Sara on claims she 'failed' as DepEd chief: Why did Marcos want me to stay?

Vice President Sara Duterte shrugged off Malacañang's claim that her two-year stint as secretary at the Department of Education (DepEd) was “a complete failure.” 

In an interview in The Hague, Netherlands, Duterte said that the actions of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on the day she tendered her resignation in June 2024 were different from how Malacañang currently brands her leadership at DepEd. 

“He tried to ask me to stay, tapos sabi ko, ayoko na. And then ang sunod niyang ginawa, in-offeran niya ako, ‘May gusto ka ba na posisyon?’ Sabi ko, wala akong gustong posisyon. Tapos ang sunod niyang sinabi sa akin, ‘Pwede ka bang tumulong sa midterm elections para sa mga senators?... Gumanon siya. Sabi ko, pag-iisipan ko pero wala pa akong plano para sa 2025 midterm elections ng senators,” recalled Duterte.

(He tried to ask me to stay, but I said I don't want to. And then he asked me if I wanted another position. I said no. Then he asked me if I could help in the midterm elections for the senators. I told him that I would think about it because I had no plans yet for the 2025 midterm polls.) 

Duterte said that these attempts by Marcos at that time “clearly” showed that the latter wanted her to reconsider her decision to resign.

“Hindi ‘yun actions ng taong tumitingin as failure ako. Action ‘yun ng taong tumitingin na kailangan niya ‘yung trabaho ko. So, hindi ko alam saan nangagaling ‘yung sinasabi nilang failure ako sa Department of Education Secretary,” Duterte said. 

(Those are not the actions of someone who sees me as a failure. Those are the actions of someone who needs my service. So, I don't know where those allegations that I am a failure as DepEd Secretary came from.) 

Aside from this, Duterte also recalled that Marcos smelled like alcohol that morning when she tendered her resignation. 

“Amoy alak siya at 10:30 in the morning. Doon ko na-confirm ‘yung desisyon ko na mag-resign. So, hindi ako ang failure. Siguro, ang failure is ‘yung 10:30 pa lang ng umaga, amoy alak ka na,” she added. 

(He smells like alcohol at 10:30 in the morning. That's when I confirmed my decision to resign. So, I'm not the failure here. Maybe the failure is smelling like alcohol at 10:30 a.m.)

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro, however, refuted Duterte's allegation. 

“Walang katotohanan ang mga kwento niyang ito laban kay Pangulong Marcos, Jr. Madali sa kanilang gumawa ng kwento at propaganda... Lahat ng kwento niya ay para siraan ang Pangulo dahil nais niyang pababain ito sa pwesto at siya ang maging pangulo,” Castro said. 

(There’s no truth to her claims against President Marcos Jr. It's easy for them to make up stories and propaganda. All her stories were made to discredit the President because she wants him to step down so she can become the president.) 

 

 

 

Expertise?

Castro on Wednesday called Duterte’s tenure at DepEd “a complete failure'' in response to the latter’s remarks that the country's education system is at a ''paper and pencil'' level.

She said the Vice President had the chance to lead the DepEd and she should have accomplished something during that period.

She also mentioned that Duterte herself admitted in one of her speaking engagements that she had no expertise in the education sector, particularly in formulating the MATATAG K-10 curriculum. 

''Hindi daw niya ma review ang MATATAG curriculum dahil wala siyang alam rito. Ang alam niya lang daw gawin ay magpukpok ng tao para magtrabaho kaya maaaring siya daw ang cause ng pagtaas ng presyon ng isa niyang tao,'' Castro said.

(She said she cannot review the MATATAG curriculum since she has no knowledge about this. She said what she can do is to push other people to work.)

During the launch, Duterte said she relies on other officials' expertise as she has no background in the education sector.

“I do not come from the education sector, I don’t have an education background so I cannot review what they’re doing and I rely on their expertise and all the stakeholders who did the review,” Duterte had said.

“Ang magawa ko lang is I do very well, admittedly, is magpukpok talaga ng tao [is to hammer at people] to do what they’re supposed to do,” she added.

Castro also asked about the P1.5 million worth of gadgets, laptops, and school materials, which supposedly were distributed in 2020 while she was the DepEd Secretary.

''These materials could have helped more than enough. Napakinabangan na sana ng marami pero binalewala lang,'' she added. 

(It could have helped a lot, but it was wasted.)

Observation 

In Kuwait, the Vice President said that while other nations have modernized their education sector, the Philippines is supposedly stuck at a paper-and-pencil level. She said that the students in other countries are already engaged in robotics and coding. 

Duterte—who served as DepEd chief from 2022 to 2024—later on maintained that the Philippines’ education system is “truly behind” compared to other countries. 

“That is an observation. That is a fact of the Philippines. And I have all the right to say kung ano ‘yung katotohanan ng bansa natin. That is covered by the freedom of speech and expression natin," Duterte said. 

(That is an observation. That is a fact of the Philippines. And I have all the right to say what the true state of our country is. That is covered by our freedom of speech and expression.)

"So dapat siguro walang magalit kasi ‘yun naman ‘yung katotohanan ng bansa natin eh. Saan ba tayo magsisimula mag-isip ng mga solusyon kung hindi natin tanggapin na mayroong problema ‘yung bayan?” added Duterte.

(So maybe no one should get angry because that is the truth. When should we start thinking of solutions for such if we do not accept that we have problems?) —with reports from Anna Felicia Bajo/ VAL, GMA Integrated News