Vice President Sara Duterte said she experienced what she described as a “professional crisis” during her time as a Cabinet member under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., citing political attacks despite her commitment to public service.
Duterte, who concurrently served as Education Secretary until her resignation in July last year, said the period tested her sense of duty as she faced criticism from within the administration.
The Vice President said she focused on fulfilling her responsibilities at the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Office of the Vice President, but claimed that some in the administration undermined her efforts.
“Nagtatrabaho lang ako at ‘yun ang commitment ko din sa bayan. Pero kahit nakaupo ako as Cabinet Secretary sa Department of Education, sa Office of the Vice President, ang ginagawa nila nagro-roll out ng project, inaatake ako ng administrasyon. Yun ‘yung professional crisis na pinagdaanan ko,” she added.
Duterte said it took her several months to realize that the treatment she received was unjust, prompting her decision to leave her Cabinet post rather than tolerate the situation.
“It took me a while to realize my worth and value as a government official na hindi dapat ganito ang ginagawa sa akin kasi wala naman akong ginagawang masama sa administrasyon, kay BBM man o kahit kanino man,” she said.
The Vice President also revealed that internal probes during her DepEd tenure uncovered several corruption cases within the agency, including irregularities in the controversial laptop procurement project.
She clarified, however, that the procurement did not occur under her leadership but during the Marcos administration.
According to Duterte, DepEd did not receive complete procurement documents since the DBM handled the process, which delayed efforts to blacklist contractors involved.
“Hindi pumasok lahat ng procurement documents sa DepEd, kaya ang pinapagawa lang namin ay ‘yung mag–blacklist. Pero that time, di pa namin magawa kasi wala sa amin ‘yung procurement — natali ang kamay namin,” she said.
