Sara mum on House squabble, GMA meet

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has remained mum over the reported leadership squabble at the House of Representatives and her meeting with former president and Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

A day after her surprise resignation from the ruling Lakas Christian-Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) party, Duterte yesterday attended the Tambobong Indakan Festival in Malabon City.

She did not speak to media and made no mention of recent political developments in her speech.

Instead, the Vice President expressed gratitude to Malabon residents for their support during last year’s elections and throughout the term of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

She also talked about some of the programs of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, which she also heads.

Duterte reiterated her call for multisectoral support to ensure that all children have access to education.

“Let us protect them from criminality, illegal drugs, NPA (New People’s Army) and terrorists because these will destroy their future,” she added.

The Office of the Vice President has yet to respond to inquiries regarding Duterte’s meeting with Arroyo on Friday.

In a post on her Facebook page, the former president shared a group photo from a birthday lunch hosted by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan. Also in the photo were San Pedro Mayor Art Mercado, business executive Bong Sta. Maria and former undersecretary Pearl Viernes.

On Friday, Duterte resigned from Lakas-CMD, with her statement mentioning “political toxicity” and “execrable political powerplay.”

While no specific issue was cited, it happened a few days after Arroyo, her close ally, was demoted from being the senior House deputy speaker to just House deputy speaker.

Following reports that a plot against House Speaker Martin Romualdez triggered the leadership change, Arroyo issued a statement, saying her actions may have been misconstrued and that she has no plans to retake the speakership post.

In 2018, it was reported that Duterte and Arroyo were among those who orchestrated the removal of then House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who was replaced by the former president.

Arroyo is a stalwart of Lakas-CMD, which is currently headed by Romualdez. Duterte served as co-chair of the party after she joined in 2021 to run for vice president.

Brunei visit

Meanwhile, the VP will travel to Brunei next month to visit one of the regional centers of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), which she currently heads.

Duterte confirmed her plan for an official trip following a meeting with Brunei ambassador to the Philippines, Megawati Manan, on Thursday.

“As president of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, it is my duty to personally visit the SEAMEO centers in our member-countries to see the possible ways to improve the quality of education in Southeast Asia,” the Vice President said in Filipino.

Brunei hosts the SEAMEO Regional Center for Vocational and Technical Education and Training.

If the official trip pushes through, it will be Duterte’s second since assuming the vice presidency, after her trip to Japan last year to attend the funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.