THE Department of Education (DepEd) remains the most trusted national government agency after receiving a 91 percent trust rating in the 2021 Philippine Trust Index (PTI) survey conducted by EON Group.

Titled “RISE & RESPOND: Trust Rewards the Agile and the Future-Ready,” the 2021 PTI measures the Filipinos’ trust levels in the government, business sector, media, non-governmental organizations, the church and the academe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is an honor to be, once again, the most trusted national government agency, but along with this are the responsibilities and duties we must continue to do to serve our learners. We are very grateful for your trust and we hope that trust will continue in our future endeavors in the education sector,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.

DepEd said it managed to keep the same top spot for national government agencies since the last PTI survey in 2019 due to its continued engagement with the public even during the pandemic through different initiatives to aid education.

According to the survey, the top driver for the trust in government agencies is the ability to help address the poor in their basic needs such as housing, food and education. DepEd remains engaged with the public in times of the pandemic by launching different initiatives to aid education.

In the past two years, DepEd said, it remained steadfast in providing the means to education in times of crises by tapping communities and partners and implementing the Basic Education-Learning Continuity Program.

Recognizing the gravity of public trust, DepEd also lauded its stakeholders for taking part in ensuring that education will continue for Filipino children and supporting the distance learning modality initiatives and other accompanying projects aimed to strengthen, upgrade and maintain the education quality.

Briones expressed gratitude to education frontliners, who stood with DepEd in continuously providing learning opportunities to all learners.

“This trust that the public has given us is a heavy load to carry. We must uphold our ideals in everything we do. But I’m glad to say that our teachers help lighten that load for they have always worked beyond their line of duties and supported the Department in bringing education to our learners,” she added.

EON conducted the PTI survey biannually for the past decade. The survey, conducted from August to September 2021, has 800 respondents from randomly selected households across the country. The respondents are from both rural and urban areas and come from the general and informed public.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Arlene Rivera