Solons ask: If VP Duterte still led DepEd, would she skip budget talks?

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers wondered what would have happened if Vice President Sara Duterte still headed the Department of Education (DepEd) after she skipped the plenary debates on the Office of the Vice President (OVP) proposed 2025 budget.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Deputy Speaker David Suarez initially posed this question, asking what the fate of teachers and DepEd staffers would have been if Duterte had not relinquished her post and possibly refrained from attending budget deliberations too.

“Ako iniisip ko, kung hindi kaya nag-resign siya (from) DepEd tapos ito rin ang mangyayari sa budget ng DepEd, ano kaya ang mangyayari sa mahigit na, ilan kayang mga teachers ang umaasa sa DepEd na empleyado natin?  Thousands ‘yon ‘di ba?” he asked.

(I was thinking what if she did not resign from DepEd, and then the same thing happened to DepEd’s budget? What would have been the fate of teachers relying on DepEd for employment?  That’s thousands, right?)

Duterte stepped down from her DepEd post last June 19, in what many saw as a sign of the Uniteam — the 2022 elections tandem of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Duterte — breaking up.

When asked to clarify whether he felt it was a good thing that Duterte stepped down from her Education secretary role, Suarez said he just raised concerns about what Duterte’s attitude would be if she was also quizzed about DepEd’s proposed allocation for 2025.

“Well, hindi ko sinabi na buti na lang nag-resign siya, ang iniisip ko lang kasi, syempre kung ito ‘yong ugali niya bilang OVP tapos assuming na hindi siya nag-resign, eh ‘di ano’ng nangyari sa budget ng DepEd?  Isang milyon na teachers yata ang umaasa sa DepEd budget, at saka hindi lang ‘yong mga teachers, ‘yong mga bata, ‘yong mga paaralan, ‘yong mga magulang na umaasa sa maayos na edukasyon ‘di ba,” he said.

(Well, I didn’t say it’s a good thing she resigned; what I’m thinking is, of course, if this is her attitude as OVP, then assuming she hadn’t resigned, what would have happened to the DepEd budget? I think there are about a million teachers relying on the DepEd budget, and it’s not just the teachers—it’s the children, the schools, and the parents who depend on a good education, right?)

“So I mean, you know, that was the point I was trying to make because at that time, she was holding two positions and very important.  So sana ito naman ay posisyon na ipinagkatiwala sa kanya, posisyon na binanggit nga kanina, 32 million ang nagluklok sa kanya do’n, eh ‘di sana ‘yon ang magsilbing tungtungan niya para gawin ‘yong trabaho — humarap, magpaliwanag, pumunta dito,” he added.

(So I hope — since this is a position entrusted to her, as mentioned earlier, 32 million voted for her, I hope that it will prompt her to respond to her duty, to face us, explain her budget, and attend the deliberations.)

Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun gave a more critical answer, saying it was a good thing that former senator and now Secretary Sonny Angara is heading the DepEd.

Angara was present at the House of Representatives plenary earlier to assist budget sponsor and Davao de Oro 1st District Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora when the DepEd’s budget was discussed.

“Buti na lang at si Secretary Angara na ‘yong Secretary ng Department of Education.  Dahil nakita naman talaga natin ‘yong pagbulusok pababa, ‘yong kalidad ng edukasyon, lalong-lalo na ‘yong may hawak pa ng Department of Education ay si VP Sara pa,” Khonghun said.

(It’s a good thing that Secretary Angara is now the Secretary of the Department of Education.  Because we saw the quality of education spiraling down, especially when VP Sara was in charge of DepEd.)

“Nakita naman natin ‘yong pagbaba ng kalidad ng edukasyon no’ng siya pa yung namumuna sa Department of Education.  So buti na lang at si Secretary Angara na ‘yong namumuno sa DepEd ngayong panahon na ito,” he added.

(We saw a decrease in the quality of education when she was at the helm of the DepEd.  So it’s a good thing that Secretary Angara is now heading DepEd.)

This is not the first time Angara and Duterte’s demeanors during budget deliberations were compared.  Last September 3, when DepEd’s proposed budget for 2025 was discussed by the House committee on appropriations, lawmakers lauded Angara for staying for over 10 hours to answer queries — including about some topics that did not happen under his watch.

Solons noted that this was a stark opposite of Duterte’s behavior at the committee hearings, as she replied to almost all questions by saying that she forgoes the opportunity to defend the budget in a question-and-answer format, or by insisting that the OVP has already coordinated with the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding the notice of disallowance (ND) issued on the confidential funds (CF).

READ: Angara’s conduct outshines Duterte’s ‘bullying’ at budget talks

The OVP’s proposed budget for 2025 was supposed to be deliberated at the House plenary at 10:00 a.m. Monday, but other agencies were asked to go first as the representative sent by Duterte’s office did not carry a written explanation and a letter of authorization.

The House then waited for the OVP to send an official representative until around 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, but neither Duterte nor any OVP personnel showed up.  This prompted the Majority to ask that OVP’s budget be discussed in the September 24 session instead.

READ: Sara Duterte skipping budget debates ‘betrayal of public trust’ – solon

This is not the first time Duterte skipped hearings on her office’s proposed budget.  Last September 10, at the second round of talks at the appropriations panel, neither Duterte nor any member of the OVP showed up to respond to questions.

READ: OVP’s 2025 budget talks deferred anew; panel terminates hearings

OVP was initially allocated a P2.037 billion budget under the National Expenditures Program (NEP), but lawmakers from the House decided to cut this down due to Duterte’s behavior and revelations that some OVP programs suffered from low budget utilization.