MANILA, Philippines — For the first time, President Marcos did not designate Vice President and resigned Cabinet member Sara Duterte as caretaker of the country while he is on an overseas trip.
An executive committee led by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and composed of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III will serve as caretakers while Marcos is in Laos for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits, according to Presidential Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez.
During Marcos’ previous foreign trips, Duterte, who quit as education secretary and vice chair of the government’s anti-insurgency task force in June, was the caretaker or was among the country’s caretakers.
The Vice President last held the role in May, when the President flew to Singapore to address the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Bersamin and Estrella were also named caretakers that time.
Duterte was Marcos’ running mate during the 2022 elections, which saw them beating their respective opponents by landslides.
The Marcos and Duterte families, however, had a publicized falling out, which saw the President and the Vice President’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, engaging in a verbal tiff.
In April, First Lady Liza Marcos admitted that she is no longer on good terms with the Vice President.
The First Lady said she was hurt because Duterte was laughing while the latter’s father was accusing the President of being a drug addict.
Last month, the Vice President said she and Marcos were not friends and that she would never again forge an alliance with his family.