Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday said she plans to watch the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos on television in her Mandaluyong City office after wrapping up her affairs at the Department of Education (DepEd).
Duterte aims to focus on her own projects with the Office of the Vice President (OVP). She has earlier announced she will not be physically attending the SONA at the Batasan Pambansa on Monday, July 22.
“Yes, I will return to the Office of the Vice President to work on my activities (as Vice President). It is [there] that I will attend the SONA,” she told reporters after the ceremonial turnover of DepEd leadership in Pasig City.
Duterte also said she has no intentions to react or join political discussions on the upcoming speech of President Marcos, noting she would rather leave it to the administration’s critics. She also refused to raise expectations.
The Vice President told reporters that everything is okay between her and the President despite her decision to leave his Cabinet. She said there are many reasons behind her resignation, but the First Lady isn’t one of them. She also neither has plans nor intention to support any potential candidate for the 2025 midterm elections.
“I will not join the midterm elections. I have to further ponder my direction for the midterm polls, which is why I am not ready to commit,” she explained. Duterte noted, however, that everything can change without elaborating.
The Vice President acknowledged that she left the DepEd “with a heavy heart” because she loved working for the organization and she would miss the people there. She believed she had a good run at the agency nonetheless.
“As I said recently, every story, no matter how beautiful, eventually comes to an end. However, just because the story ends, it doesn’t mean that dreams and the steps towards fulfilling them should also stop,” said Duterte in her speech in Tagalog.
She said there is one former official from DepEd, who will continue to work for and with her at the OVP. She did not name this person, but she said they have been working together since 2007.
“We will attend to the needs of the underserved areas through our various satellite offices. We will focus on the existing projects of the Office of the Vice President, as well as its legacy projects,” she said.
