Uniteam no more? Why keep your DepEd post, ex-OVP spox asks
By Raymund Antonio and Raymund Antonio
Former Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesman Barry Gutierrez on Thursday, June 13, questioned Vice President Sara Duterte for keeping her post as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary despite admitting that the Uniteam alliance was only for the 2022 elections.
Vice President Sara Duterte and former vice presidential spokesperson Barry Gutierrez (OVP photos)
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the ex-lawmaker pointed out that the Vice President shouldn’t be holding on to her DepEd post if there was no more unity with President Marcos.
This was in reaction to Duterte’s remark that the Uniteam alliance was for the 2022 polls and that she and Marcos are no longer candidates.
“Una, gamitan lang at pambubudol ang kunwaring ‘Uniteam’ noong eleksyon. Galaw trapo hindi prinsipyo (First, the Uniteam last elections was a trap. It’s a trapo [traditional politician] move and not principled),” he said, while sharing a news article on Duterte’s comments.
“Pangalawa, kung wala naman palang totoong unity, eh bakit nandiyan pa siya sa DepEd? Nakikinabang hindi nagtratrabaho (Secondly, if there is no true unity, why is she still in DepEd? Benefiting but not working),” Gutierrez added.
In an interview during an Independence Day event in Davao City on Wednesday, June 12, the Vice President was quoted as saying that elections are now over and that they have already thanked their supporters for the results of the last elections.
However, she said that she and Marcos are no longer running for positions.
Marcos and Duterte run under the Uniteam tandem and won via landslide, but cracks have started to appear in the alliance less than a year into their win.
Aside from tensions between the Vice President and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the President’s cousin, former president Rodrigo Duterte and her brothers—Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte—heavily criticized Marcos and at one point, asked him to resign.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, in reaction, admitted her rocky relationship with the Vice President and admitted to snubbing her in public after she saw the official laughing at the elder Duterte’s “bangag (stoned)” comment aimed at the Chief Executive.