MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said it would read the report of the World Population Review, where Filipinos were listed to have "below average" intelligence quotient (IQ).

DepEd chief of staff and spokesperson Michael Poa also assured that the agency is doing a "holistic" approach to ensure learning and nutrition of students.

"Sa ngayon, as you know, meron tayong 'MATATAG' agenda. It's more of holistic approach talaga. Naririnig din natin, I think yesterday, may mga comment that nutrition may be a part that affects IQ. Of course, I'm not an expert in that," Poa said at the sidelines of the Language and Inclusivity Summit.

(We have the MATATAG agenda. It's really more of holistic approach. We also heard yesterday that there were comments that nutrition could affect IQ.)

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"Meron din tayong iro-roll out na learning camps this break. Ito po ay parte lahat iyan ng ating mga strategies to really improve quality basic education. But doon sa report, we will read the report. And if there's anything else that we need to do in terms of intervention, definitely it will be discussed within the department," he added.

(We will roll out learning camps this break. this is part of our strategies to really improve quality basic education.)

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte was also present in Friday's summit, where she highlighted some of DepEd's inclusivity programs, including IP languages, Filipino sign language, and teaching Arabic to students through Madrasah Education for Filipino Muslim learners.

"This means that our MATATAG Agenda does not forget, discriminate against, or disregard Indigenous Peoples or our Lumad brothers and sisters, our Muslim communities, or people with disabilities," she said in her speech.

"We hope to see our IP or Lumad learners, Muslim learners, and PWD learners experience the same learning experience we provide other learners," she added.

Duterte attended the event hours after announcing her resignation from Lakas-CMD. She declined requests for interview.

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