‘Long story, personal’: Sara Duterte teases reason behind Marcos Cabinet exit

With Vice President Sara Duterte's exit from the Marcos Cabinet, will she be more visible and accessible to the media?

After turning over the leadership of the Department of Education (DepEd) to Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Thursday, July 18, a visibly relieved Vice President Sara Duterte faced the media, after holding a tree planting activity with the incoming education chief.

It seems that the Vice President is now more than ready to answer questions from reporters, no holds barred, including her departure from the Marcos Cabinet.

When she was asked about the reason behind her resignation, Duterte said it was a “long story,” and that it stemmed from a “personal” conversation she had with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the 2022 presidential campaign.

“Mayroong personal sa aming dalawa ni President Marcos, which stems from ‘yung napag-usapan namin bago ako tumakbong vice president, mayroon sa trabaho, mayroon sa bayan. Mahaba siyang kuwento,” Duterte told reporters.

(There are personal matters between us, which stems from the conversation we had when I ran for vice president. They were work-related and nation-related. It’s a long story.)

Duterte did not elaborate on what she meant by saying it was personal. She only said that it was a mix of reasons. “Nagkabuhol-buhol na siya na maraming rason,” she said. (The reasons just got all tangled up.)

The Vice President even hinted at doing a sit-down interview with reporters for a tell-all interview about her departure from the Cabinet. “Sabi ko nga, kailangan niya ng sit-down dahil hindi siya isang rason lang,” she said.

(Like what I’ve said, it needs a sit-down interview to be told because it’s not just one reason.)

Duterte resigned from the Marcos Cabinet on June 19, confirming the rift inside the Uniteam coalition forged in the 2022 elections for the Marcos-Duterte tandem. At that time, she said that she was resigning as education chief “out of concern for teachers and the Filipino youth.” 

Marcos appointed Duterte as his DepEd secretary even though he knew – and even made public during the campaign – that she wanted the defense portfolio. The two jobs were polar opposites but Duterte accepted the position without any complaints, at least based on her public statements.

Prior to Duterte’s resignation, clues of infighting between her and Marcos’ allies began to circulate, such as her resignation from Lakas CMD, the Congress’ denial of her request for confidential funds, and her public opposition to charter change and reboot of peace talks with the communists.

In January, Marcos and the Vice President’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, publicly threw drug accusations against each other, and in April, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos admitted she was not in good terms with the Vice President. 

With her exit from the Marcos Cabinet, will Duterte be more visible and accessible to the media, and more willing to answer questions? And will she be openly criticizing and defying the Marcos administration’s policies? – Rappler.com