Unlike in the past when Vice President Sara Duterte was an imposing figure in the House of Representatives, the recent sudden shift in the political winds may mean she is now a fair target of the chamber that is packed with allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The House raised indications it would summon Duterte to the upcoming budget hearings to grill her on her perceived shortcomings when she was education secretary.
Last 19 June, the Palace released a statement indicating the Vice President had stepped down as education secretary and vice chairperson of the government’s anti-communist task force.
Legislators explained that her presence would be requested in their desire to determine Duterte’s role in the “worsening” problems hounding the Department of Education (DepEd) which she headed for nearly two years.
Gabriela Partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas floated a proposal to invite her to the budget proceedings.
“VP Sara Duterte is not yet safe from the upcoming national budget deliberations,” Brosas said in the vernacular.
On the table during the probe will be the poor performance of the DepEd and the intensifying crisis in education under the current administration.
A recent report of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ranked Filipino students second to the last in creative thinking.
Daily Tribune tried to obtain a comment from Duterte through her camp but had yet to receive a response at press time.
Duterte announced her “irrevocable” resignation as DepEd chief on the afternoon of 19 June, effective 19 July, without explanation. She, however, maintained that her decision was “not born out of weakness.”
Indicting PISA study
Duterte’s departure coincided with the publication of PISA’s global study conducted in 2022 that showed that 15-year-old Filipino students lagged behind in creative thinking, drastically distant from the average score of 33 set by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The country’s neighbor, Singapore, landed in the top spot among 64 countries with 41 points.
The PISA, developed by the powerful OECD, is a periodic international comparative study that tests 15-year-olds’ ability to use their knowledge and skills in reading, mathematics, and science.
PISA said the creative thinking performance of the Philippines was lower than expected after accounting for reading performance.
An earlier study by PISA released last year also revealed that Filipino learners were far behind their 15-year-old counterparts from most participating nations by five to six years in mathematics, science and reading.
Best candidates
With Duterte’s departure from the DepEd, calls have been made to name an educator to head the country’s largest bureaucracy.
The Teachers’ Dignity Coalition has called on President Marcos to ensure that the next DepEd secretary is not a politician or actively involved in partisan politics.
“This is to ensure that DepEd is spared from political bickering and being dragged into divisive political fighting,” the group said.
Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda endorsed Prospero de Vera, the chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education, or Milwida Guevarra, head of the Synergeia Foundation, a non-government organization formed to improve basic education in the country, as the next DepEd secretary.
Salceda said De Vera played a significant role in the funding of community colleges under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education program that “helped poor and underserved communities produce more college graduates than ever before.”
New horizon
“That changed the landscape for basic education because most community colleges produce teachers,” the economist-lawmaker said.
“Chair Popoy has also streamlined the linkages between DepEd and CHEd in offering basic education programs,” he added.
Salceda also cited De Vera’s active participation in keeping proprietary private schools alive during the pandemic.
“As many as 140,000 basic education students in private colleges in low income communities would have been kicked out of the system without our tax reduction policies and the subsidies we pushed for,” he said.
Marcos accepted Duterte’s resignation but has yet to name a replacement who will take over when her 30-day notice expires on 19 July.