ADMINISTRATION lawmakers continued to pounce on Vice President Sara Duterte, saying she is in no position to criticize the Marcos Jr. administration because she, herself, performed poorly as Education secretary.
“The root causes of our educational challenges remained even after the tenure of Vice President Duterte as Education secretary. The minimal progress made undermines her credibility when she criticizes the Marcos administration,” Davao de Oro Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora, a vice chair of the House committee on appropriations, said in a statement yesterday.
Zamora was in charge of defending the proposed budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) during plenary deliberations. She pointed to the poor performance of Filipino students in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), saying it is “a reflection of the department’s ineffective management.”
She reminded the Vice President, who served as Education chief from 2022 until her resignation last June, that the Philippines ranked 77th out of 79 countries in reading comprehension, 78th in science, and 79th in mathematics.
The administration lawmaker said this happened despite Congress’ support to the education department’s annual budget proposal.
“As the DepEd budget sponsor for the past two years, I fought hard to have its budget approved with minimal revisions. But its implementation was carried out solely by the Department,” said Zamora, also a former member of Duterte’s Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) party.
The Vice President earned the ire of lawmakers when she stepped up criticisms against the administration, saying the people “deserve better.” She assailed the government’s performance on health care, poverty, and flood control.
She has also blamed the administration for the investigation of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) into the bloody war on drugs implemented by the previous administration led by her father, Rodrigo Duterte. She accused the administration of allowing foreigners to meddle in the country’s internal affairs amid reports that it cannot stop the Interpol if the ICC seeks its assistance in going after her father and others who were tagged responsible for the thousands of deaths caused by his drug war.
The House is planning to conduct a stringent review of the budget of the Office of the Vice President, and it will be on top of a joint investigation of four committees tasked by the plenary to look into the major issues hounding the previous Duterte administration: Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and the crimes associated with it, proliferation of illegal drugs, and the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.
‘SOLUTIONS, NOT JUST CRITICISMS’
Zamora said that despite having fully funded projects and programs for 2023 and 2024, the DepEd under Sara Duterte “left much to improve teacher training, resource allocation, curriculum updates and critical thinking development.”
“These ongoing issues highlight the need for more effective educational reforms made possible through concrete leadership,” Zamora said.
Zamora called on the Vice President to contribute solutions to the issues she recently raised by participating in open discussions.
“Vice President Sara Duterte must look at how she can help the country by being open to discussing how to solve its problems instead of assigning blame. Real leadership means offering solutions, not just criticisms,” she said.
‘FATHER’S FAILURE’
Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun laughed off the VP’s statement on Wednesday last week, criticizing the administration for allegedly not having a flood-control program.
Khonghun said her father had a full six years to fund it, noting that her older brother, Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte had a whopping P51-billion allocation for infrastructure projects during the last three years of their father’s term.
“Hindi ba ito nagamit sa flood-control programs? Saan na nga ba napunta itong P51 billion na ito? Sa laki ng alokasyon na ito, kahit isa hindi nagamit sa flood-control?
(Wasn’t it used for flood-control programs? Where did this P51 billion go? Wasn’t even a small part of that huge of an amount used for flood-control?) Former President Duterte also had six years to accomplish this, pero (but) we don’t hear the VP saying anything about her father’s failure,” he said.
Senate President issue a similar statement on Friday last week, saying he was “perplexed” as to why the Vice President was questioning the Marcos government’s flood control program when her father failed to address it.
Khonghun also said the Vice President had no right to be critical when she left the country for a personal trip to Germany with her family, while it was being battered by typhoon “Carina.”
“Who’s being called by netizens a #truant amid the heavy rains brought by Carina? Wasn’t it the height of irresponsibility when the second highest official of the land goes on a trip amid the rains and the typhoon? You are still out of the country and you keep complaining.
And on top of being absent, you still have the gall to complain?),” he said in Filipino.
“Those who will hear the VP’s criticisms against our President would say, ‘Look who’s talking?’ Where were you when the people needed you? Marked safe from Carina because you were in Germany? I hope all of us can experience that,” he added.
DISCONNECT
La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega said VP Duterte’s statements “should be contextualized against the backdrop of recent calamities and the broader political framework.”
“It is perplexing to hear such criticisms from the VP, particularly during a time when the nation was grappling with the adverse impacts of typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon. While these natural calamities were unfolding, VP Duterte was reported to be in Germany,” he said.
Ortega said this raises concerns about the timing and focus of her commentary as the juxtaposition of her travels against a backdrop of national emergency “underscores a disconnect that merits scrutiny.”
Ortega cited the flooding in Davao City in late June of this year, saying the Vice President’s younger brother, Mayor Sebastian Baste Duterte, was with their father in to Tacloban City allegedly for a “political purpose.”
He said this complicates the Vice President’s position because it suggests “a pattern of absence during critical times that necessitated leadership and prompt response.”
Ortega said the Dutertes have been chief executives of Davao City “for as long as we can remember,” and VP Duterte herself is once mayor.
“Given this background, the VP’s recent criticisms appear to be not only misplaced but also reflective of a broader inconsistency in her political and administrative career,” Ortega said.
“Critiquing the current administration’s efforts in flood management without acknowledging her administration’s shortcomings does not contribute constructively to the ongoing efforts to address these challenges.”
