Sara Duterte teases 'long story' behind resignation from DepEd

MANILA, Philippines — One of the factors that pushed Vice President Sara Duterte to step down as Department of Education secretary stemmed from a "personal" conversation she had with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before she ran as his vice presidential candidate in 2022.

Duterte bared this during a chance interview with reporters on Thursday after DepEd's turnover ceremony, where she also appeared more forthcoming than before about her resignation as DepEd chief. 

The outgoing DepEd chief said she stepped down due to a myriad of reasons that could only be told during a long "sit-down."

“Mayroon personal saaming dalawa ni President Marcos, which stems from yung napag-usapan namin bago ako tumakbong vice president, mayroon sa trabaho, mayroon sa bayan. Mahaba syang kwento," the vice president said.

(There are personal matters between President Marcos and me, which stems from what we discussed before I ran for vice president. There are work-related matters, and there are national matters. It's a long story.)

"Sabi ko nga, kailangan niya ng sit down dahil hindi siya isang rason lang. Nagka buhol buhol na sya na maraming rason," Duterte said.

(As I said, this needs a sit down because it's not just one reason. It has become tangled with many reasons.)

Days after Duterte handed her resignation to Malacañang on June 19, Marcos bared in an interview that Duterte did not tell him why she resigned from his Cabinet and asked him: "Huwag na lang natin pag-usapan [Let's just not talk about it]."

Observers have previously noted that Duterte requested the defense portfolio in 2022 but was appointed by Marcos to be DepEd secretary instead. 

Based on her public statement about the matter on May 12, 2022, Duterte said she accepted the education portfolio to avoid "intrigue" or to quash any talk of a "rift" within the UniTeam coalition. 

Opposition lawmakers and progressive groups said Duterte's resignation from DepEd marks her final breakaway from the UniTeam alliance that catapulted her to office in 2022.