YEARENDER: After Breezing Through Elections, Sara Takes On DepEd Challenge

Leading pre-election surveys for most of the campaign period, it did not come as a surprise when Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte won by a landslide in this year’s vice presidential race.

But what many did not expect was her decision to accept President Marcos’ offer for her to lead the Department of Education (DepEd), the government’s largest bureaucracy made up of over a million public school teachers and non-teaching personnel.

Duterte, known for her tough and no-nonsense leadership as Davao City mayor, previously expressed her interest to be defense secretary when elected vice president.

But in a statement days after the May 9 polls, she noted the possibility of detractors “fabricat(ing) intrigues about (her) loyalty” should she take the helm of the Department of National Defense. 

“The UniTeam wants a stable Philippines and the most harmonious administration possible,” Duterte said, referring to her campaign tandem with Marcos. “It was decided that I would work on producing skilled learners with the mindset to realize their full potential as individuals. Our country needs a future generation of patriotic Filipinos that advocate peace and discipline in their respective communities.”

During her inauguration on June 19, just 11 days before the new administration formally assumed office on June 30, the then vice president-elect rallied Filipinos to unite as she highlighted various challenges faced by the youth.

“We should not – as we could not afford to – squander the future of our children,” Duterte said in her inaugural speech. “Our children are facing a very complex future, one that is rife with conflict and uncertainties.”

Full F2F classes

Immediately after accepting the basic education portfolio, Duterte underscored her plan to address learning losses brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among her priorities was the return of full face-to-face classes following two years of blended learning.

She formalized this in her first department order in July, where she also set the start of classes in public schools for the next three years every August.

In that directive, Duterte mandated all public and private schools to implement five-day in person classes starting Nov. 2.

Following appeals, she allowed private schools to continue with the blended learning setup indefinitely. But the full implementation of face-to-face classes pushed through in public schools, except in those that received exemptions due to congestion or damage caused by recent disasters.

While deemed as generally successful, the opening of the school year and the resumption of full in-person classes were still marred by perennial problems, including shortage of teachers, classrooms and learning materials.

Monitoring conducted by various groups showed overcrowded classrooms and classes being conducted in makeshift or damaged facilities.

The DepEd repeatedly vowed to address the problems, but stressed the need for higher budget to fill in the gaps and deficiencies in the sector.

Controversies

In her first few months as DepEd chief, Duterte had to deal with various controversies within the agency, particularly the alleged anomalous procurement of “outdated” and “pricey” laptops during the previous administration.

A Commission on Audit (COA) report found that the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management procured laptops for public school teachers at P58,300 each even though DepEd, in its procurement request, initially set the price at P35,046.50.

Duterte requested the COA to conduct a “fraud audit” on the matter. The Senate Blue Ribbon committee has yet to release its report on its separate investigation.

More recently, the Vice President also pushed for an investigation into reports of a teacher being able to file maternity leaves 11 times in a span of three years.

She also asked the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the alleged abuse of students at the Philippine High School for the Arts in Los Baños, Laguna.

The DepEd also investigated other harassment cases involving teachers, including those from a school in Cavite who were accused of predatory behavior.

Alarmed over such incidents, the agency strengthened its child protection initiatives and launched a helpline last November.

Duterte also issued a “professionalism” policy within the agency, which directed teachers to “avoid relationships, interaction and communication, including following social media with learners outside of the school setting, except if they are relatives.”

The policy proved controversial as it also included broad provisions, such as the reminder to employees to “not disparage DepEd and must always be mindful of the reputation and honor of the organization.”

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers said parts of the order “threaten the freedom of expression and right to redress of grievances of DepEd personnel,” noting the prohibition from raising issues and concerns through a third party.

Duterte defended the policy and maintained the need to ensure professional relationships between teachers and students to prevent untoward and criminal incidents.

Confidential funds

Despite not getting the defense portfolio, Duterte’s national security agenda remained evident in many of her initiatives and activities, such as in the proposed confidential funds lodged in the 2023 budgets of the Office of the Vice President and DepEd.

Amid criticisms, Duterte assured the public that the funds – P500 million for the OVP and P150 million for DepEd – would be used separately and independently from each other.

“Sexual grooming of learners, recruitment in terrorism and violent extremism, drug use of DepEd personnel – these are not laid out for regular personnel to see, that is why we need the help of the security cluster and the security sector to address these issues and challenges to basic education,” she during a House committee hearing on DepEd’s proposed 2023 budget.

OVP spokesman Reynold Munsayac said their office’s confidential funds would be used for projects related to national security and peace and order.

“The position and mandate of the Vice President allows her to utilize those kinds of funds regarding peace and order and national security, especially since we have livelihood projects that will be implemented in conflict areas in our attempt to maintain peace and order and pursue national security projects,” he said.

‘No mercy for criminals’

When Marcos left the country for his first official trip last September, one of the Vice President’s first actions as the government’s caretaker was to meet with state security forces.

During the meeting, she pushed for a “no mercy” policy against criminals and terrorists, saying “the Philippines will only be able to truly recover and rebuild post-pandemic and meaningfully stand with honor and pride as a nation if we successfully address threats to our security.”

Duterte repeatedly denounced communist insurgency and even issued a terse statement – “May God have mercy on his soul” – when Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison died on Dec. 17.

She also backed the implementation of mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in senior high school, although she later supported plans to put it back in college instead.

“The basic education will focus on other parts of the curriculum that would instill discipline and love of country for our learners,” she told reporters in September.

The House already passed a measure that will require college students to undergo citizen military training under National Citizen Service Training, which critics described as a “disguised” version of mandatory ROTC. The proposal is among the Senate’s priorities next year.

15th VP

Duterte is the first female vice president from Mindanao. She is third vice president from southern Philippines, after Emmanuel Pelaez (1961-1965) and Teofisto Guingona Jr. (2001-2003), and the third female to hold the office, after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (1998-2001) and Leni Robredo (2016-2022).

At 44, she is also the youngest to win the second highest office in the country.

Supported by over 32.2 million Filipinos last elections, she obtained the highest number of votes received by any candidate in Philippine history, even higher than Marcos’ 31.6 million.

Duterte is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte and served as Davao City mayor for three terms (2010-2013, 2016-2022).

As Vice President, she continued her predecessors’ medical and burial assistance programs for indigent Filipinos, as well as launched a free transportation-bus augmentation initiative. Her office also has programs on livelihood for marginalized sectors, disaster relief and school kit distribution.

The OVP under Duterte opened satellite offices in Bacolod, Cebu, Dagupan, Davao, Surigao, Tacloban and Zamboanga, while its central office moved from the Quezon City Reception House to Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong.

Duterte said she wants having a permanent office for the OVP to be one of her legacies as vice president.