Duterte on claims that she failed as DepEd chief: Marcos even asked me to stay

Metro Manila, Philippines - Vice President Sara Duterte rejected the Palace claim that she was a failure as education chief, insisting that she was even asked by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to stay in her post and that the agency “was delivering results” at the time.

In an interview in The Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday, Aug. 20, Duterte said she didn’t understand where the Palace remark came from, saying that Marcos’ actions showed otherwise when she resigned as education secretary in June 2024.

Malacañang’s claim came after Duterte hit the country’s education system for being stuck in “paper and pencil” compared to other countries.

“And to think na the Department of Education was the department that was delivering results sa administration. So, nina ko lang. Sabi ko, ayoko pag-usapan. And then, sabi niya, he tried to ask me to stay,” Duterte said as she recounted the day she submitted her resignation.

“Tapos sabi ko, ayoko na. And then ang sunod niyang ginawa, in-offer-an niya ako, may gusto ka ba na posisyon? Sabi ko, wala akong gustong posisyon. Tapos ang sunod niya ang sinabi sa akin, 'pwede ka bang tumulong sa midterm elections para sa mga senators?'” she added.

[Translation: And to think that the Department of Education was the department that was delivering results in the administration. So, I just kept it to myself. I said, I didn’t want to talk about it. And then, he said—he tried to ask me to stay," Duterte said as she recounted the day she submitted her resignation…Then I said, I don’t want to anymore. And then the next thing he did was offer me—he asked if I wanted a position. I said, I don’t want any position. Then the next thing he said to me was, can you help with the midterm elections for the senators?]

Duterte said the president’s actions at the time were not indications that she was a failure.

Marcos and Duterte ran together in the 2022 elections under the now disbanded “UniTeam.”

In a statement on Thursday, Aug. 21, the Palace again hit back at the vice president, saying “records will speak for themselves.”

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro pointed out the 1.5 million undistributed school materials and gadgets during Duterte’s time as education chief, which she said could have benefitted more students.

“Ano nangyari sa more than P100M para sa ghost students dahil sa fake vouchers sa panahon niya? Buti na rin lang at nadiskubre kaagad ni Sec. Angara ito,” she added.

[Translation: What happened to the more than P100 million for ghost students due to fake vouchers during her time? It's a good thing that Secretary Angara discovered it right away.]

Duterte’s leadership as education chief met with a number of controversies, including her supposed mismanagement of at least P112.5 million confidential funds — which was among the reasons behind her impeachment.

A report of the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department also showed the DepEd had a low budget utilization from 2017 to 2024 — which included the years where Duterte was leading the agency.

The Commission on Audit also earlier reported that the Duterte-led DepEd only completed 192 out of the 6,379 targeted new classrooms for 2023.