Vice President Sara Duterte pushed back against Malacañang’s statement branding her stint as Education secretary a “complete failure,” saying President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. himself had urged her to stay on the job.
In an interview with Alvin & Tourism vlog, Duterte revealed that the President made several attempts to convince her to reconsider her 2024 resignation from the Department of Education (DepEd).
“He tried to ask me to stay. Tapos sabi ko ‘ayoko na,’” Duterte recounted. “Ang sunod niyang ginawa, in-offer-an niya ako, may gusto ka ba na posisyon? Sabi ko wala akong gustong posisyon.”
The vice president also said Marcos went as far as asking her to help prepare the administration slate for the 2025 midterm elections. According to her, the President asked if she could assist in rallying support for senatorial candidates, citing her Hugpong ng Pagbabago’s past alliance with the UniTeam coalition.
Duterte argued that the Palace’s recent dismissal of her leadership contradicted Marcos’ actions at the time. “Hindi ‘yung actions ng taong tumitingin as failure ako. Action ‘yun ng taong tumitingin na kailangan niya ‘yung trabaho ko,” she said.
The Palace earlier criticized Duterte after she remarked that the Philippine education system was still at a “paper and pencil” stage compared to other countries already advancing in robotics and coding. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro countered that Duterte had nearly two years to make reforms and failed to deliver, hence being deemed “a complete failure.”
Duterte stepped down as DepEd secretary and as vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in 2024 but said she would continue serving the public through the programs of the Office of the Vice President.
