“Okay.”

This was President Marcos’ short reaction to Vice President Sara Duterte’s remark that she would not be accpeting any other Cabinet post following her resignation as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

In an interview in Apayao on Friday, July 19, Marcos seemed to respect the Vice President’s decision to not serve in another Cabinet post.

“Eh… Okay. That’s her position,” he told reporters.

Vice President Duterte’s resignation from all her Cabinet posts on June 19 came as a surprise, especially since she did not give any reason for her exit.

However, on Thursday, July 18, she hinted that her reason for resigning was “personal” and a long story that stemmed from the terms they agreed on before they ran in the 2022 elections.

“Mayroong personal sa aming dalawa ni President Marcos which stems from iyong napag-usapan namin bago ako pumayag na tumakbo as Vice President (It is something between President Marcos and I which stems from our understanding before we agreed to run as Vice President),” Vice President Duterte said.

 "So mahaba siya na kwento (It’s a long story) and then we will need a sit down," she added.

The Vice President said that her relationship with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos had nothing to do with her resignation. The First Lady has expressed her disappointment on Duterte after she supposedly laughed at jokes about the President being a drug addict.

Duterte likewise announced that she would not be attending Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 22, and that she has named herself as the “designated survivor.”

Despite these, both President Marcos and Vice President Duterte said they are in good terms.

“Okay naman iyong relationship namin ni President Marcos (My relationship with President Marcos is okay),” Duterte said on Thursday.