NOT A WEAKNESS Vice President Sara Duterte says she is stepping down as education secretary not out of weakness but of concern for teachers and the youth but did not explain her irrevocable resignation. —SCREENGRAB FROM DEPED PHILIPPINES FACEBOOK PAGE
MANILA, Philippines — The government can now undo the supposed “mess” within the Department of Education (DepEd) now that Vice President Sara Duterte has stepped down as Education secretary, according to Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua.
In a statement, Chua said the Matatag curriculum crafted during Duterte’s tenure as Education secretary “should be put on hold,” along with the alleged “brainwashing” in the DepEd.
“It is now time to unravel the havoc she has caused in DepEd. It is time to undo the damage she has inflicted upon teachers, schools, and students. It is time to unmask the appointments made in DepEd in aid of the 2028 elections,” Chua said on Wednesday.
“All politically motivated bullying and brainwashing in DepEd must stop now,” he added.
INQUIRER.net sought the DepEd officials’ side regarding Chua’s statement, but they had not replied as of this posting time.
On Thursday, Chua urged Malacañang to look for a new Education secretary with a track record of success as a public school teacher — “a real, outstanding classroom teacher who is a problem solver and manager with multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary experience.”
“They could start their search from among the public school teachers awardees of the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award, the CSC Dangal ng Bayan Award, the Ten Outstanding Filipinos Award, TOYM Award, and the Metrobank Outstanding Teacher Award,” he said.
“I suggest these distinguished educators because they taught in DepEd public schools, rose from the ranks, and have been vetted for their competence, values, and integrity,” he added.
According to the lawmaker, Malacañang can also select from former public school teachers who have “advanced to higher education through state universities and colleges.”
“A third pool is that of former public school teachers who later became employers and entrepreneurs who can bring new perspectives into DepEd because of their wider range of experience and expertise not limited to public basic education,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Presidential Communications Office relayed that Duterte has resigned from her posts as Education secretary and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Duterte held a press briefing at the DepEd office to confirm her resignation.
READ: Sara Duterte resigns as DepEd secretary, says Palace
While government officials said Duterte did a good job at the DepEd, opposition figures like ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said the Vice President’s resignation was “long overdue.”
READ: Sara Duterte’s resignation as DepEd chief ‘long overdue’— Castro
For Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman, Duterte seems to have admitted that her stay at DepEd was a liability to the education sector.
“The resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte as Secretary of the Department of Education will hopefully lead to the solution of the alarming crisis in Philippine education,” Lagman said.
“No less than Vice President Duterte herself said that her resignation is ‘dala ng tunay na malasakit para sa ating mga guro at kabataang Pilipino’ (due to my genuine concern for our teachers and the Filipino youth), which means that her incumbency was a liability to teachers and students,” he added.
Political analysts have speculated that Duterte’s resignation from the Marcos cabinet signals the formal breakup of the Uniteam, from mere tensions in 2023. Questions regarding the tandem’s ties started when Duterte resigned from the political party Lakas-CMD, headed by Marcos’ cousin, House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
READ: Sara Duterte resigns from Lakas-CMD
In May 2023, Lagman said that Duterte’s resignation from Lakas-CMD was linked to the removal of Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the senior deputy speaker role.
READ: Lagman believes Sara’s party resignation linked to Arroyo ouster