Professor Emerita Leonor M. Briones of the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG), University of the Philippines (UP) will head the Department of Education (DepEd) under the Duterte administration.
The selection of Briones as DepEd Secretary was announced on 30 May 2016, almost a month before Duterte and his cabinet assume office.
This will not be the first time for Briones to serve as a cabinet member. She served as Presidential Adviser for Social Development with Cabinet Rank and as National Treasurer of the Philippines under the Estrada administration.
Briones obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration, major in Accounting from Silliman University, and her Master of Public Administration, major in Local Government and Fiscal Administration from the UP- NCPAG.
Briones also has postgraduate diplomas in Development Administration, major in Public Enterprises (with distinction) from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and Development Administration from the Harvard Institute for International Development at Harvard University.
While in active service as member of the faculty of UP-NCPAG, Briones taught fiscal management courses in the graduate and undergraduate levels. She also once served as Director of UP-NCPAG’s Center for Policy and Executive Development (CPED).