Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 5) — Former Senator Leila de Lima on Monday urged Vice President Sara Duterte to step down as education secretary after she disagreed with the government’s move to pardon rebels and revive peace talks with the communist group.
“Peace talks is not within the core competence of her portfolio as DepEd Sec,” De Lima wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
\”She should resign as Deped Sec if she keeps on publicly opposing BBM’s Cabinet policy decisions that have nothing to do with DepEd,\” she added.
Being the education secretary, De Lima emphasized that Duterte is part of Marcos’ Cabinet and that she can only criticize the chief executive’s policies if she speaks only as vice president.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Nov. 24 granted amnesty to current and former members of rebel groups.
A few days later, the government announced it will resume peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) after signing a joint communique in Oslo, Norway on Nov. 23.
However, Duterte on Monday released a video statement opposing the new peace efforts.
She appealed to Marcos to review his policies and called the Oslo communique an \”agreement with the devil.\”
READ: ‘Agreement with the devil’: VP Sara against Marcos’ rebel amnesty grant, NDFP peace talks
