Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Wednesday, Jan. 31, thanked President Marcos for his continued trust and confidence but said she also respects her father’s and brothers’ opinions about the Chief Executive despite not agreeing with all of them.

(From left) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte during the Brigada Eskwela in Manila last Aug. 14, 2023. (Ali Vicoy/MANILA BULLETIN)

In a statement, the official reacted to Marcos’ recent remarks that he will retain her as the country’s Education chief despite calls from different camps for her resignation.

“Taos-puso po akong nagpapasalamat kay Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. para sa kanyang patuloy na tiwala at kompyansa sa akin bilang kalihim ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon (I wholeheartedly thank President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his continued trust and confidence in me as secretary of the Department of Education),” she said, lauding the President for recognizing the vital role of DepEd in his eight-point socioeconomic agenda.

“Nagpapasalamat din ako kay Apo BBM sa kanyang paggalang sa aking mga paninindigan (I also thank Apo BBM for respecting my stand),” she added as she referred to her opposition to the People’s Initiative (PI) signature drive for Charter Change being pushed reportedly by the President’s cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Duterte referred to this as “Pera kapalit ang pirma sa People’s Initiative (Money in exchange of signature for People’s Initiative),” which she said insults the people’s right to decide freely and pushes instead to address first poverty, high prices of goods, unemployment, joblessness, security, and others.

She stressed that respecting one’s opinion is a valuable characteristic shown by the President, and enjoined others to also respect the beliefs of others, including their own families.

“May respeto ako sa mga pananaw at opinyon ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte pati na ng aking mga kapatid (I have respect for the opinion of former president Rodrigo Duterte and my brothers),” she said days after her family asked Marcos to resign, with her father calling the Chief Executive a “drug addict” and “bangag (high on drugs).”

“Ngunit, katulad ng posisyon ko sa maraming mga isyu, hindi kailangan na sumasang-ayon ako sa lahat ng mga ito. Pinalaki ako ng aking mga magulang na may pagpapahalaga sa malayang pag-iisip at pagpapasya (But similar to my position in many issues, I don’t need to agree to all of these. I was raised by my parents to give importance to freely think and decide),” Duterte added.

On Tuesday, Jan. 30, the former president lambasted his successor anew by challenging him to take a drug test after Marcos claimed the elder Duterte’s accusations are a result of taking the highly addictive synthetic opioid fentanyl.

The verbal spat between the Dutertes—with Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte calling for the President to resign—and Marcos were fueled by the removal of the Vice President’s confidential funds from the 2024 national budget, the alleged upcoming warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Duterte patriarch, and plans for Cha-cha that could perpetuate Marcos to power and block his daughter’s path to the presidency.

The Vice President said in her statement that she chooses to serve her country.

“Para sa akin, laging nangunguna ang katapatan ko sa paglilingkod sa bayan (For me, public service is my priority),” she stressed.

“Uunahin ko ang edukasyon ng ating kabataan at kapayapaan ng bayan. Uunahin ko ang Pilipinas (I will prioritize our youth’s education and our nation’s peace first. I will prioritize the Philippines first).”