Alvarez says Marcos admin lost a capable asset when VP Sara resigned

Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez.—INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — Former Speaker and now Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez believes the current administration lost a capable worker in government with the resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte as education secretary.

Alvarez in a statement on Friday said politicians may have attacked the Vice President because she has been performing well in surveys — and had the highest number of votes during the 2022 national elections, even higher than the mandate received by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“Surveys from reputable sources are clear. VP Sara received the most votes in the 2022 National Elections, even higher than President Marcos. And she is the most trusted government official among the cabinet. She continues to gain support of the people,” the former speaker said.

“And that’s probably why many politikos have issues against her – because she is a true servant of the people and a true leader of the nation’s interests. The Marcos cabinet lost a very capable public servant,” he added.

Alvarez believes Duterte’s decision to leave the cabinet however would be best for the country as she can move freely without the “shackles” of people who supposedly claimed to be willing to work with her.

“Well, actually for me it is a good thing. She now has more options insofar as how she can move in pursuit of serving the people, without the shackles imposed upon her by those who made it appear that they are willing to work with her but, at the same time, setting up traps along the way to make sure that she fails,” Alvarez said.

“Should she choose to decide, she can also be the representation of a genuine opposition that will serve as the check and balance against the shortcomings, and overextensions, of the Marcos administration,” he added.

On Wednesday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) relayed that Duterte has resigned from her post — as member of the Marcos cabinet, Education secretary, and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac).

Duterte eventually held a press briefing at the DepEd office to confirm her resignation.

READ: Sara Duterte resigns as DepEd secretary, says Palace 

After Duterte stepped down from her roles in the cabinet, former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the Vice President now establishes herself as the leader of the opposition.

Makabayan bloc lawmakers in the House of Representatives opposed this declaration, asking if Duterte embodies traits of a true opposition leader — that is, being pro-human rights, and being anti-corruption.

READ: VP Sara as opposition leader? Makabayan asks if she’s anti-corruption 

If Duterte decides to represent the opposition, Alvarez said that he will support the Vice President.

“Of course. In a healthy democracy, opposition which provides an alternative point of view with how the country is being governed is a must. Whoever this person that represents the best interest of the people and the whole country, we will follow,” he said.

“I trust VP Sara’s decisions as she navigates the political field of Philippine politics,” he added.

Alvarez and Vice President Duterte have had an intriguing political relationship over the years.  While Alvarez openly supported the 2016 presidential campaign of Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, it was the Vice President who initiated the ouster of the former speaker.

It was the Vice President, who was Davao City mayor back then, who orchestrated moves to oust Alvarez before former president Duterte’s State of the Nation Address in 2018, and eventually install former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Speaker of the House.

READ: Ex-Lacson ally Alvarez confirms: I’m now backing Robredo 

Even the older Duterte admitted that it was his daughter who made the moves.

READ: Solons say Sara Duterte played key role in Alvarez ouster 

In 2019, Duterte refused to reconcile with Alvarez, saying that the latter’s offer lacked sincerity.

“I have no intention of accepting Rep. Bebot Alvarez’s offer of reconciliation because the offer was deceiving and utterly lacked sincerity,” Duterte said.

READ: Sara Duterte refuses to reconcile with ‘dangerous’ Alvarez 

Then in the 2022 presidential race, Alvarez opted to support the candidacy of former senator Panfilo Lacson, before eventually endorsing former vice president Leni Robredo — Marcos’ chief adversary in the elections.