A fast overview of her time as DepEd chief ought to scale back the confusion of the Vice President
Vice President Sara Duterte is at a loss as to why Malacañang described her management of the Division of Training (DepEd) as a “full failure.”
“Hindi ko maintindihan saan nanggaling ‘yung ‘whole failure’ ako as a Division of Training secretary. Kasi iba ‘yung actions ni BBM noong ako ay nag-tender ng resignation,” Duterte stated.
(I can’t perceive the place that got here from — my “whole failure” as a Division of Training secretary. As a result of BBM’s actions indicated in any other case after I tendered my resignation.)
The Vice President was reacting to a Palace assertion calling her DepEd management a whole failure, following her remarks that the Philippines’ training system is falling behind different international locations.
“She was presupposed to have labored for nearly two years; no matter she is complaining about ought to have already been achieved throughout her time. Along with her criticism now, it solely displays that, as a DepEd secretary, she was a whole failure,” Palace press officer Claire Castro stated on Wednesday, August 20.
Is that this a good evaluation? Throughout her tenure as DepEd chief, the division managed to construct solely 192 lecture rooms out of the 6,379 focused for 2023 — the one full yr the company was beneath her management. On the time, the nation was already dealing with a scarcity of 91,000 lecture rooms. That backlog has since ballooned to 165,000.
The Vice President additionally claimed that the DepEd was an company that was “delivering outcomes” — an evaluation questioned by critics. Was she, maybe, referring to public surveys on the Marcos Cupboard’s efficiency? Whereas DepEd persistently topped these surveys throughout her tenure, this was apparently largely as a result of her sturdy help base and never essentially a mirrored image of her precise efficiency as training secretary.
Critics additionally pointed to her vaunted DepEd program to remind the Vice President of how she fared as training chief. The Matatag curriculum, the flagship program of her DepEd management, was marked by chaos, as evidenced by its failed and ill-prepared implementation on the bottom. Academics interviewed by Rappler stated the rollout was rushed and that they weren’t given satisfactory coaching. (READ: Academics dismayed by ‘chaotic’ rollout of Matatag curriculum)
Castro herself reminded Duterte about this on Thursday, August 21: “Information will converse for themselves. She admitted in considered one of her talking engagements that she has no experience in formulating the Matatag curriculum since she shouldn’t be from the training sector. She stated she couldn’t overview the Matatag curriculum as a result of she didn’t know something about it.”
In 2023, it may be recalled that Duterte issued an order to take away classroom decorations, together with tutorial supplies, leaving partitions naked. She claimed these decorations distracted college students from their classes however didn’t present any research nor knowledge to help her directive. Training Secretary Sonny Angara has since allowed classroom decorations when he assumed workplace.
There was additionally the P150-million confidential fund for DepEd in 2023, which grew to become a key problem in her now halted impeachment case. She confronted heavy criticism over the key funds as DepEd shouldn’t be the company liable for intelligence operations. Since then, she has refused to elucidate how the funds have been spent.
Wait, there’s extra. Keep in mind the DepEd laptops and studying supplies that have been saved undistributed throughout her time? Rappler produced a sequence of investigative tales on this. You can begin by studying Half 1 (Negligence, corruption result in hearth sale of DepEd laptops).
Duterte resigned from the Marcos Cupboard on June 19, 2024, signaling the collapse of the once-formidable Uniteam alliance. Nonetheless, she argued that if Malacañang really noticed her management as a failure, then why did President Marcos ask her to rethink her resignation on the time?
“Hindi ‘yun actions ng taong tumitingin as failure ako. Motion ‘yun ng taong tumitingin na kailangan niya yung trabaho ko. So, hindi ko alam saan nanggaling ‘yung sinasabi nilang failure ako as Division of Training secretary,” she stated.
(These aren’t the actions of somebody who sees me as a failure. These are the actions of somebody who sees my work as mandatory. So I don’t know the place they’re getting the concept I used to be a failure as Division of Training secretary.)
Political observers pose some questions in relation to the President’s actions too: Was Marcos considering of the DepEd when he requested her to rethink her resignation then, or was he considering of his political survival? And if she didn’t have the experience wanted to steer this essential division, why did Marcos appoint her within the first place?

There are various tales — or information, as Castro would say — that illustrate how Duterte led the DepEd. Nonetheless, studying by way of all of them would take up a whole lot of your time. For now, these examples ought to suffice and hopefully aid you kind the perfect description of her management in DepEd. – Rappler.com