VP Sara Duterte: 'I’m a complete failure? That’s not what BBM’s actions implied'
Vice President Sara Duterte is defending her performance as the former secretary of the Department of Education, pushing back against Malacañang's statement that her stint was a "complete failure."
In an interview, Duterte said she doesn't understand where the assessment is coming from.
“Hindi ko maintindihan saan nanggaling yung 'total failure' ako as the DepEd secretary,” Duterte told the media during a press huddle at The Hague, Netherlands. “Kasi iba yung actions ni BBM noong ako ay nag tender ng resignation."
She recounted Marcos’ reaction when she handed him her resignation letter on June 19, 2024, in a conference room inside Malacañang Palace.
Marcos asked why she would resign, but Duterte said that she doesn't want to talk about it.
"Para sa akin, kailangan pa ba itanong 'yon? Hindi mo ba nakita 'yung ginawa ninyo sa akin? Hindi naman ako masochista na aatakihin niyo nang aatakihin habang nagtatrabaho ako para sa inyo," she said.
After he asked Duterte to reconsider, Marcos offered her a different government position. When she declined, Marcos asked her if she could help with the 2025 midterm elections for senators, noting her regional party’s past with their UniTeam alliance. However, Duterte informed him that she had no plans for the midterms.
“Clearly, lahat ng attempts niya to make me reconsider my resignation, na sinabi niya mag stay lang ako as department secretary of DepEd, na sinabi niya na gusto ko bang lumipat sa ibang posisyon, na sinabi niya na pwede ba ako tumulong sa midterm elections ng 2025. Hindi 'yun actions ng taong tumitingin as failure ako. Action 'yon ng taong tumitingin na kailangan niya 'yung trabaho ko." Duterte said.
"So hindi ko alam saan nanggaling yung sinasabi nila na failure ako as DepEd Secretary," she continued.
Duterte added that the clincher, however, came when she was about to leave.
"Before I left, we did a beso-beso. That was [at] 10:25 in the morning. He smelled of alcohol. And if I were to guess, the smell was whiskey…That confirmed my decision to resign. I am not the failure. Perhaps the failure is the person who smells like alcohol at 10:30 in the morning,” she said.
Justifying the failing mark the administration gave Duterte as a DepEd secretary, Malacañang Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a message to reporters on Thursday, August 21, “Records will speak for themselves. She admitted in one of her speaking engagements that she has no expertise in formulating the Matatag curriculum since she is not from the education sector.”
Duterte set the Matatag curriculum to cover basic education. It was launched in 2023 to enhance the holistic education of students by streamlining lessons and focusing on basic subjects. (with reports from Bella Cariaso)
