Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro thinks Vice President Sara Duterte is on another crusade to make people pity her after she claimed in a rally that the government had abandoned her and the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

'Yan naman po ang nais naman nilang iparating—maging kaawa-awa ang OVP, maging kaawa-awa ang Vice President (That's exactly what they wanted to covey—that she and the OVP would appear pitiful)," she said in a press briefing on Monday, March 10.

"Siya naman po ay binigyan ng pagkakataon para ipagtanggol ang kanyang proposed budget. Hindi naman po hinahadlangan na mabigyan ng tamang budget sa OVP kung ito naman ay maipapaliwanag niya (She had the chance to defend her proposed budget. They would've given it to the OVP if she had just explained)," she added.

Castro pointed out that Duterte was the one who left the government. Duterte, who served as the secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd), cut her ties with the government in July 2024.

"So wala pong nang-iwan sa kanya. Baka po siya po ang nang-iwan sa gobyerno (So nobody abandoned her. She abandoned the government)," she said.

Castro likewise reacted to Vice President Duterte's remarks that she was scammed during the previous elections.

"Kung na-scam siya ng (If she was scammed by the) Uniteam, isn't it the other way around?," she asked.

Castro said the Uniteam could not have known that Duterte would spend P125 million worth of confidential funds in 11 days or that she knew "assassins."

"Hindi naman po siguro inisip nila 'yon at nagbigay ng tiwala sa kanya (I think the Uniteam didn't think of that so they trusted her)," she said.

Castro suggested that the Vice President might have left the government because the current administration would not continue her father's controversial programs.

"Parang meron pong sinasabi na dapat may continuity. Pero hindi po papayag ang Pangulo na ituloy po yung sinasabi nilang bloody Tokhang at EJK (I think they were saying that there should be continuity. But the President would not let the blood Tokhang and extrajudicial killings to continue)," Castro said.

"Maaaring isa rin yun sa mga dahilan kung bakit inayawan din ni VP Sara dahil hindi po lahat ng ginawa ng dating administrasyon ay susundin nang pikit-mata ng Pangulo (Perhaps that is also one of the reasons why the Vice President left the government because the President would not blindly continue what the previous administration did)," she added.