VP Duterte is gov't caretaker until Marcos' return from Tokyo; holds office in Davao
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte will hold office in her hometown of Davao City as government caretaker while President Marcos is in Tokyo this weekend to attend a regional summit.
Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte (OVP photo)
The Office of the Vice President (OVP) announced that the official will be based in Davao City from Dec. 15 to 18 while the Chief Executive is away on official trip.
“The Vice President will discharge her duties and will preside as Chairperson of the Executive Committee meetings in Davao City during the official travel abroad of President Marcos from December 15 to 18,” the OVP said.
“She will hold office in DepEd NEAP (Department of Education’s National Educators’ Academy of the Philippines) Davao and OVP Davao Sattelite office,” it added.
The announcement came amid the OVP’s non-response to media queries regarding Duterte’s non-attendance during the President’s pre-departure event on Friday, Dec. 15, for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Japan (ASEAN-Japan) commemorative summit in Tokyo.
This was the first time that the Vice President did not send Marcos off for an official trip, and it fuels speculations of an alleged breakdown in the UniTeam tandem between the country’s top two officials.
Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, in particular, has recently engaged in a word war with the Marcos-aligned House of Representatives, attacking House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the President’s first cousin.
Members of the House backed Romualdez, expressing their support for them through official statements of the leaders of the various political party leaders, especially when the Speaker was alleged by Duterte-supporter and Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) anchor Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz to spend over P1.8-billion in travel this year.