Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday called on Vice President Sara Duterte to resign as Education Secretary and not to cling to her post amid the widening rift between her family and that of her principal, President Marcos.
Barry Gutierrez, ex-spokesman of former vice president Leni Robredo, added it was a matter of delicadeza for Duterte to leave the Marcos Cabinet.
Their statements came after Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares said Monday it may no longer be tenable for Duterte to be part of the Cabinet as an alter-ego of the President.
However, President Marcos said he was keeping the Vice President as Education Secretary, noting that his relationship with her remained “exactly the same” (see story on A2 – Editors).
“Pagkatapos ng kaguluhan nung Linggo, minura at ininsulto na ng tatay at mga kapatid mo, tapos kapit-tuko ka pa rin as DepEd Secretary? Konting hiya naman. Magresign ka na as DepEd Secretary, please.
#SaraResign (After the chaos over the weekend, your father and your brother cursed and hurled insults at the President, and yet here you are still clinging to your position as DepEd Secretary? Have some shame. Resign as DepEd Secretary),” Trillanes posted on X Tuesday.
Gutierrez echoed the same call: “Your brother was daring the President to resign. Your father accused him of being part of the PDEA [narco-politician] list. Your allies keep on attacking and you did not oppose them.”
“If you have delicadeza, you will leave the Cabinet, right? Maybe it’s really hard to leave a position when you’re benefiting from it,” he added.
Duterte’s offices – at the Office of the Vice President and the DepEd — have yet to comment on the calls for her to step down.
On Monday, however, Duterte said she has not spoken yet to her brother but blamed his outburst on the “despicable treatment” she was getting from people close to the Chief Executive.
Despite the apparent tensions between the Marcos and Duterte clans, the Vice President said she would put the Philippines first and “stay true to my work at the Department of Education, unless the President says otherwise.”
She was still designated caretaker when the President left for Vietnam Monday for a two-day state visit.
