VP frontrunner Sara Duterte to serve as DepEd secretary, says Bongbong Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — Leading vice presidential candidate Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio will serve as secretary of Department of Education (DepEd) once elected, presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced Wednesday.

According to Marcos Jr., Duterte-Carpio, who is poised to win the vice presidential race, has agreed to take the post.

“I think I am already authorized to announce the first nominee that we will be giving to the Commission on Appointments when the time comes should I be proclaimed. And that is that our incoming vice president has agreed to take the brief of the Department of Education,” Marcos Jr. said in a televised speech.

“So si Inday Sara, tinanong ko sa kanya kung kaya niya yung trabaho dahil mahirap ang trabaho ng Secretary of Education. Pero nag-agree naman siya,” he added.

Marcos Jr. said that since Duterte-Carpio is a mother, “she wants to make sure that her children are well-trained and well-educated.”

“That’s the best motivation that we can hope for. So that is the first announcement that I can make that has come out of this process,” Marcos Jr. said.

Less than an hour before Marcos Jr.’s announcement, the camp of Duterte-Carpio clarified that the vice presidential bet “has not expressed preference for any cabinet position.”

“We fully recognize that the choosing of cabinet positions is within the discretion of the President,” presumptive Liloan town mayor Christina Frasco, who also serves as Duterte-Carpio’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

Marcos Jr. earlier claimed that Duterte-Carpio wants to head the Department of National Defense (DND) should they clinch the victory in the May 2022 elections. Duterte-Carpio, however, said that while she has preferred Cabinet post, the decision is up to the elected president.

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