MANILA - Patriotism is at the "top of mind" of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, an ally said Monday.

Duterte, sworn in on Sunday as the country's 15th Vice President, said she would like to see a "country with learners that are disciplined, patriotic, and skilled," according to Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda.

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"When I prepared her supposed platform 18 months ago, she changed only one slide. That slide she inserted was security and development. Development of patriotism among and within—basically that patriotism can be learned or taught. Pag tiningnan mo ang 2 other speeches and 2 statements…top of mind talaga niya ang patriotism," he told ANC's Headstart.

(If you read 2 other speeches and 2 statements…Patriotism is really at the top of her mind.)

When asked if he agrees with Duterte's proposal of mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps training, Salceda cited South Korea, China and Japan.

"They've found a way of employing education--isa sa napansin ko (one of the things I observed is) very nationalistic, di lang (not only) patriotic. There's an intense feeling of nationalism and patriotism," he said.

Duterte, who won alongside her runningmate President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, has said there would be "no historical revisionism that's gonna take place in her term as DepEd secretary," Salceda said.

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Duterte, meantime, has to work with local governments in raising Filipino students' scores in reading proficiency and math, according to Salceda.

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"Basically, the key there is nutrition. 'Pag ang estudyante gutom, talagang di sila natututo (If a student is hungry, they don't learn anything)," he said.

Davao City, where Duterte suceeded her father as mayor from 2016, is "very successful" in early childcare and development and these will be "replicated nationally," Salceda added.

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