Former Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesman Barry Gutierrez thinks it is time for Vice President Sara Duterte to consider stepping down as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), citing as reasons the country’s education crisis and her preoccupation with other issues outside her own agency.
(From left) Vice President Sara Duterte and former lawmaker Barry Gutierrez (OVP photos)
The lawyer, who was the spokesperson of ex-vice president Leni Robredo, questioned Duterte’s involvement “in matters that are beyond her responsibilities as the Secretary of Education.”
“If Vice President Duterte finds the demands of the Secretary of Education overwhelming or incompatible with her interests and skills, it might be prudent for her to consider stepping down from this role,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
Instead of addressing issues in the country’s education sector, such as the lack of teachers, infrastructures, and learning materials, Gutierrez lamented that Duterte seemed to be busy interfering in issues outside her responsibilities.
He also noted that the World Bank has recently flagged the Philippines because nine out of 10 Filipino students aged 10 years old could not read properly.
“Oo, pangkaraniwan na para sa mga politiko na manghimasok at mangialam sa iba’t-ibang isyu at aktibidad (Yes, it is normal for politicians to interfere into various issues and activities), but the extent of Vice President Duterte's involvement in issues outside her primary function raises questions about her focus and priorities as Secretary of Education,” the University of the Philippines law professor said.
Among the issues on which the Vice President has spoken are the government’s plan to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the resumption of peace talks with rebel groups, he added.
Gutierrez also criticized Duterte for actively greeting China during its founding anniversaries and for attending ribbon-cutting ceremonies hosted by private companies.
The Vice President has ralso eached out to the Department of Justice (DOJ), appealing for it not to cooperate with the ICC's bid to look into then results of the war on drugs waged by her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
On Monday, Dec. 4, she also called the Oslo Joint Communique, which signals the resumption of the peace talks between the government and the communist rebels, as “an agreement with the devil.”