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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider VP Sara's ex-ally in House calls out her poor performance as DepEd chief 

VP Sara's ex-ally in House calls out her poor performance as DepEd chief 

Published Aug 11, 2024 08:49 am

At A Glance

  • Davao De Oro 1st district Rep. Maria Carmen "Maricar" Zamora insinuated that Vice President Sara Duterte failed to address the education sector's problems during her tenure as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary.
  • Zamora had defended the Department of Education's (DepEd) budget since 2022 in the House of Representatives. 

Sara Duterte.jpgVice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

The congresswoman from Davao de Oro who had defended the Department of Education's (DepEd) budget since 2022 insinuated that Vice President Sara Duterte failed to address the education sector's problems during her time as head of the agency.

“The root causes of our educational challenges remained even after the tenure of Vice President Duterte as Education Secretary. The minimal progress made undermines her credibility when she criticizes the Marcos administration,” Davao De Oro 1st district Rep. Maria Carmen “Maricar” Zamora said in a statement Sunday, Aug. 11.

“As the DepEd budget sponsor for the past two years, I fought hard to have its budget approved with minimal revisions. But its implementation was carried out solely by the department,” said Zamora, a vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations.

Zamora is a former member of the Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), which is the Vice President's old regional party.

Vice President Duterte left the post of DepEd secretary last July 19, after serving there for two years.

Almost instantly, she began criticizing the administration of her one-time "UniTeam" partner, President Marcos.

Zamora pointed to Filipino students' poor performance in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as a reflection of the department’s ineffective management. She said the Philippines ranked near or at the bottom in reading comprehension, science, and mathematics.

Zamora said that despite fully funded projects and programs for 2023 and 2024, the DepEd left much to do in terms of improving teacher training, resource allocation, curriculum updates, and critical thinking development.

“These ongoing issues highlight the need for more effective educational reforms made possible through concrete leadership,” she said.

Zamora called on Vice President Duterte to contribute solutions to the issues she recently raised by participating in open discussions.

“Vice President Sara Duterte must look at how she can help the country by being open to discussing how to solve its problems instead of assigning blame. Real leadership means offering solutions, not just criticisms,” the ranking solon from Davao said.

The House appropriations panel is set to scrutinize the budgets of DepEd and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in the coming days as part of the deliberations on the proposed P6.352-trillion 2025 national budget.

Related Tags

Department of Education maria carmen zamora Sara Duterte
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