VP Sara defends DepEd stint

Vice President Sara Duterte rejected claims that she was a “complete failure” as Education Secretary, saying President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s attempts to persuade her to remain in the Cabinet prove otherwise.

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Duterte said this after Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro described the Vice President’s stint at the Department of Education (DepEd) as a “complete failure” following her remarks that the country was still at a “paper and pencil” stage compared to modernized systems abroad.

In a media interview in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Wednesday, Aug. 20, the Vice President recounted how Marcos tried to persuade her to stay in the Cabinet when she handed him her irrevocable resignation in June 2024.

“Nung binasa na niya, ang sabi niya, ‘Why? Why?’” (When I handed it to him, he said, ‘Why? Why?’),” she said.