VP Sara Duterte steps down as Cabinet member, DepEd chief, NTF-ELCAC vice chair

Transcript

00:00It was a stunning development with a seismic shift in the corridors of power only a few saw coming.

00:06Vice President Sara Duterte announced earlier this afternoon her decision to step down from her twin posts

00:12as education czar and deputy co-chair of the powerful anti-insurgency body,

00:17the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

00:21Our Soojin Kim took her team to the People's Palace and she filed this report.

00:26Past 2 in the afternoon, the Vice President went to Malacanang and tendered her resignation

00:32as a member of the Cabinet, Secretary of the Department of Education, and Vice Chairperson for the NTF-ELCAC.

00:39Her resignation takes effect on July 19.

00:42I have given my 30-day notice to ensure the proper and orderly transition for the benefit of the next Secretary.

00:52My resignation is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of real concern for our Filipino teachers and youth.

01:06Two years since we accepted the gargantuan task of heading the basic education sector,

01:14we have taken big steps towards institutional reforms.

01:19Vice President Sara underscored her department's feats in the last 24 months,

01:24especially as the department is poised to transition to a new academic calendar and curriculum for kindergarten to grade 10 students.

01:32As we open our schools on July 29, we highly anticipate its nationwide implementation.

01:40Our curriculum, however, is a mere scrap of paper without the necessary resources for its effective delivery.

01:49The official added, to address the need for additional textbooks, reading materials, and learning tools and equipment,

01:56they revised and expedited the entire procurement process.

02:00By the first half of the year, we are on track to complete our textbook procurement as well as the purchase of e-learning cards.

02:09The Vice President also explained that even with limited resources, their efforts to improve the education sector did not wane.

02:17Today, an additional 2,000 last-mile schools have been given internet connections through satellites,

02:25while 305 schools have been connected through fiber internet.

02:30By the end of 2025, we aim for all schools to be connected.

02:37She emphasized the importance of upholding the quality of education Filipinos rightfully deserve.

02:43No child should be left behind. Teachers are truly the cornerstone of any education system.

02:54VP Sara thanked partner agencies, LGUs, private sector partners, and her colleagues in DepEd.

03:01Thank you for your unwavering support, hard work, and dedication to serve the Filipino people.

03:10As a final message, VP Sara expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the nation's teachers.

03:16To our teachers, words can never capture how grateful the nation is for your sacrifices,

03:25for your passion, and for your unrelenting commitment to rearing the youth.

03:32In the two years that we have been together, our story is a story of hard work.

03:39However, no matter how good the story is, it ends in vain.

03:47On the other hand, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, or NTF-LCAC,

03:52released a statement saying they acknowledge and respect the decision of the Vice President to resign.

03:58The task force says her leadership was instrumental in advancing their collective goal

04:03of achieving lasting peace and development in the country.

04:06The task force also assured a seamless transition of leadership during this time.

04:11Soojin Kim, from the National TV Network, for the New and Better Philippines.