Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday broke her silence on why she left the cabinet of election runningmate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Duterte said that her resignation as Education secretary stemmed from a personal agreement she had with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the 2022 presidential elections.
“Mayroong personal sa aming dalawa ni President Marcos, which stems from ‘yung napag-usapan namin bago ako tumakbong vice president, mayroon sa trabaho, mayroon sa bayan. Mahaba siyang kuwento,” Duterte told reporters during the turning over the leadership of the Department of Education (DepEd) to Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara held at DepEd Central Office, Pasig City on Thursday.
Duterte did not clarify what she meant when she said “personal” but stated there were several factors involved.
“Nagkabuhol-buhol na siya na maraming rason,” she said.
Meanwhile, Duterte urged the teachers and the department to warmly welcome the incoming secretary the way they welcomed her at DepEd in July 2022.
“Sana ay kung ano yung pagtanggap ninyo sa akin dito sa kagawaran ng edukasyon nung ako ay dumating noong Hulyo 2022, ay ganyan din ang mainit na pagtanggap at pagmamahal na ipakita ninyo kay Secretary Sonny Angara,” the vice president said in her message during the turnover.
She reiterated what she said before, that any story no matter how good has an ending.
“Subalit matapos man ang kwento, hindi naman nangangahulugan na dapat ring matigil ang pangarap at ang pagsagawa ng mga hakbang tungo sa katuparan nito,” she said.
During her last 24 months as education secretary, among her accomplishments include the rolling out of the Matatag Agenda, causing the Matatag Agenda and the Basic Education Development Plan to be adopted by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board as the national plan and policy for basic education, brought back in-person classes for approximately 27 million learners across public schools post-pandemic, launched and piloted the K-10 Matatag curriculum, created the school infrastructure and facilities strand, and issued a policy on the workload of teachers which provides a mechanism for teaching overload pay.
“Bilang Kalihim ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon, ang tanging pangarap ko ay maitaas ang kalidad ng edukasyon sa Pilipinas. Ngunit ang isang pangarap, kung hindi pagsisikapan, ay mananatiling pangarap lamang,” she said.
