‘Hindi lulan ng kahinaan’: VP Duterte resigns as DepEd secretary

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday, June 19, tendered her resignation as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary, leaving behind the official family of the Marcos administration.

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the media about her resignation as Education secretary effective July 19, 2024. (DepEd screenshot)

Speaking in a press briefing, the official said that her resignation will take effect on July 19 after a 30-day notice for the orderly transfer of power to the next education chief.

“Earlier today, June 19, 2024, I sought an audience with the president and tendered my resignation as the Secretary of Education effective July 19, 2024. I have given my 30-day notice to ensure the proper and orderly transition for the benefit of the next secretary,” she announced.

The Vice President, who has been a no-show at recent events hosted by President Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, with whom she had a falling out, assured that she will remain committed to improving the quality of education in the country.

“Mga kababayan, ang aking pagbibitiw ay hindi lulan ng kahinaan kundi dala ng tunay na malasakit para sa ating mga guro at kabataang Pilipino (My fellowmen, my resignation isn’t born out of weakness but brought upon by true compassion for our teachers and the Filipino youth),” she said.

“Hindi man ako ang tumatayong kalihim ng edukasyon, mananatili akong isang ina na nagmamatyag at titindig para sa kapakanan ng bawat guro at bawat mag-aaral sa Pilipinas (I may not be the Education secretary anymore, but I will continue to be a mother who will observe and stand up for the welfare of teachers and Filipino students),” Duterte added.

Following her resignation, she then expressed profound gratitude to partner agencies in the national government, local government units, private sector partners, and her DepEd family.

But when asked by journalists what prompted her to leave DepEd, the official walked away and refused to answer.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil confirmed Duterte’s resignation both as DepEd secretary and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

It can be recalled that Duterte initially wanted to be appointed as Department of National Defense (DND) chief, but the President instead gave her the DepEd portfolio.

Although her critics have called for her resignation as DepEd chief amid recent cracks in the Uniteam, President Marcos had been quoted as saying that he continues to trust his 2022 runningmate.

This despite his wife admitting in an interview that she was angered by Duterte laughing at former president Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks that Marcos was “bangag (stoned).”

The Vice President’s resignation from the President’s Cabinet will further fuel speculations of massive cracks in the once Uniteam tandem, which the official earlier hinted was done merely for the campaign.

Duterte and Marcos had never spoken ill about each other, but their camps have long-simmering tensions starting from former president and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Arroyo’s attempt to overthrow House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the President’s cousin.

However, the Dutertes—including the former president and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte—have openly criticized Marcos and called for his resignation.

The Dutertes’ allies and political bloggers have also lambasted the current administration, with former Palace spokesman Harry Roque asking Marcos if he was a “drug addict.”