Duterte severs official ties with administration
Metro Manila, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte has severed official ties with the administration in refusing to rejoin the Cabinet after stepping down as education secretary.
Duterte told reporters at the sidelines of the turnover ceremony at the Department of Education (DepEd) headquarters in Pasig City her reasons for quitting the post.
"Merong personal sa aming dalawa ni Pangulong Marcos, which stems from iyong napag-usapan namin bago ako pumayag sa DepEd. Meron siyang sa trabaho, at meron siyang sa bayan," she said.
[Translation: There are personal things between me and President Marcos, which stems from our discussion before I took the helm at DepEd. There are job-related reasons, while there’s also about the nation.]
Duterte earlier said she resigned from DepEd as an act of compassion for the plight of students and teachers.
The vice president denied speculations that her resignation had something to do with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos.
“No. Kasi walang kinalaman si first lady sa trabaho namin ni Pangulong Marcos. Sabi ko nga kailangan siya ng sit-down kasi hindi siya isang rason lang. Nagkabuhol-buhol na siya,” said Duterte.
[Translation: No. The first lady has nothing to do with my job with the president. As I’ve said, we need a sit-down because it’s not just one reason. It’s already tangled.]
In an interview in April, Mrs. Marcos admitted she was hurt when the vice president attended former President Rodrigo Duterte’s rally in Davao City in January. In the event, Duterte’s father called the president “bangag” or high on substance.
Marcos and Duterte won the 2022 elections under the “UniTeam” ticket, with unity as the center of their campaign.
The two have shown differing positions, however, on a number of issues including the investigation by the International Criminal Court on the bloody drug war during the Duterte administration, the sexual and trafficking abuse cases of religious leader Apollo Quiboloy, the former president’s religious adviser and close family friend, and the sudden shift in the academic calendar for basic education, among others.
