VP Sara rejects tag as ‘opposition leader’

Vice President Sara Duterte –screengrab from DepEd Philippines Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte is refusing to be seen as an opposition figure following her decision to quit as Cabinet member of the Marcos administration.

“Based on my work, my character and my principles, I don’t act for the benefit of the administration, or the opposition, or for politics,” Duterte told reporters on Saturday.

“I work based on whatever is beneficial to the people, and whatever is rightful to [them],” she added.

READ: Sara Duterte resigns as DepEd secretary, says Palace

Duterte was in Cebu City over the weekend for the “Pasidungog,” a ceremony organized by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) honoring its project partners.

She handed down her resignation on June 19 as concurrent secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) and vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), which President Marcos readily accepted.

She said she was still working to ensure a smooth turnover of duties as she awaits the appointment of her successor.

“What I want to do right now is to oversee the transition … at DepEd, and to continue the projects under [OVP],” Duterte said.

Marcos needs more time

Without giving clear reasons to the President, her resignation has been viewed as the strongest sign of strained ties between the country’s two top leaders.

Anti-Marcos and pro-Duterte personalities were quick to brand the Vice President as the new opposition leader. The Liberal Party and the Makabayan bloc, among other groups in the opposition, immediately rejected the idea.

Duterte has 19 days left as education chief as her resignation takes effect on July 19. She said among the remaining events she has to work on are the “Brigada Eskwela,” National Learning Camp, National Press Conference and Learners’ Convergence.

She stressed she has no plans of endorsing anyone to the education post she vacated because it is the President’s sole discretion.

Despite recognizing the urgency of naming a new education secretary, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday said he would need “more time” to be able to determine the kind of leader the agency needs.

While Duterte looks forward to her uninterrupted role as Vice President, she stressed she would not seek confidential funds in the incoming budget deliberations like what she did last year.

“For the [OVP], we don’t have any proposal for confidential funds this year,” she said, without elaborating on the reason.

Duterte’s unprecedented request for P2.38 billion, including P500 million in confidential funds, for the OVP’s 2023 budget raised eyebrows from critics and the public.