NOT A WEAKNESS Vice President Sara Duterte says she is stepping down as education secretary not out of weakness but of concern for teachers and the youth but did not give the reason for her irrevocable resignation. 鈥擲CREENGRAB FROM DEPED PHILIPPINES FACEBOOK PAGE
A ship captain is expected to lead his crew safely through their journey.
But for 鈥淭eacher Bons,鈥� Vice President Sara Duterte鈥檚 sudden resignation was like a captain abandoning his crew during their voyage since most of her programs in the Department of Education (DepEd) have yet to start.
The 55-year-old grade school teacher, who uses an alias to avoid reprisals, has taught for 37 years, 11 in public schools.
When Duterte announced her resignation on Wednesday, it was streamed live on DepEd鈥檚 official Facebook page, and she was among the more than 50,000 viewers.
The announcement shocked and surprised her.
READ:VP Sara Duterte quits Cabinet in break with Marcos
鈥淚t鈥檚 like: 鈥榃hat happened?鈥欌�� she told the Inquirer. 鈥淥f course, it was really shocking, though, she should have done this a long time ago.鈥�
鈥淲hat I mean is, out of the blue, you decided to resign as DepEd secretary? While the programs initiated under your leadership have not started at all, or [is] nothing being done yet?鈥� she said.
Teacher Bons wondered whether Duterte鈥檚 policies would remain, such as removing classroom decorations like artwork and posters.
She said that classroom wall decorations were important, especially for kindergarten teachers.
What about 鈥楳atatag鈥�?
鈥淪o, can I bring them back now? And there are many other questions raised after the resignation like what will happen now to her projects that are not even being implemented yet,鈥� she said.
Among these projects was the shift to the 鈥淢atatag curriculum鈥� for basic education from kindergarten to Grade 10, which DepEd planned to implement in phases. It is set to begin in the school year 2024-2025.
Teacher Bons said that some teachers had not yet started training for the phased implementation of the new curriculum.
She said she did not believe the Vice President鈥檚 explanation for leaving DepEd. Duterte said that it was not prompted by 鈥渨eakness,鈥� but by 鈥渃oncern鈥� or 鈥渃ompassion鈥� for the teachers and students.
鈥淒oes she want us to picture her like a mother who wants to go abroad and will say, 鈥業 will leave my children for their sake鈥�? Because for me, honestly, I don鈥檛 know what kind of concern she was saying,鈥� she said.
In resigning, Duterte dropped the Matatag curriculum implementation and teachers鈥� training is still incomplete, Teacher Bons said.
Duterte also did not push hard enough for higher teachers鈥� salaries. Teacher Bons said that DepEd said it would 鈥渟tudy鈥� a bill filed by the Makabayan bloc seeking a P50,000 entry-level salary for teachers.
鈥淚 have nothing against the Vice President, but if you will see our condition, there was nothing really significant that happened when she was the DepEd secretary,鈥� she lamented.
From education sector
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers, the teachers鈥� group that Duterte repeatedly Red-tagged, welcomed her resignation and hoped that President Marcos would appoint someone nonpolitical who came from the education sector.
The Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) said Mr. Marcos should immediately appoint a replacement so as not to leave DepEd headless, considering the current education crisis, as shown in the recent results of the Programme for International Student Assessment.
PBEd executive director Justine Raagas hoped that the next education secretary would be 鈥渃onsistent鈥� with DepEd鈥檚 current programs.
鈥淭here were things that we saw in the programs [under Duterte] that were good, like the Matatag curriculum, which we hope will be continued [by her successor], we also saw the rolling out of summer camps which was a good approach, and the removal of administrative tasks among teachers,鈥� Raagas told the Inquirer.
Lito Senieto, executive vice president of the National Parent-Teachers Association, said he believed that Duterte鈥檚 resignation was 鈥渁 little early鈥� and 鈥渁brupt.鈥�
In an interview with ANC, he said it was 鈥渦nfortunate鈥� that Duterte left her post at this point when the Matatag curriculum would be rolled out for the first time.
The Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP) 鈥渃elebrate鈥� Duterte鈥檚 resignation and echoed calls for Mr. Marcos to appoint a 鈥渂etter education secretary who will heed and prioritize the needs of the Filipino students burdened by the education crisis.鈥�
The resignation manifested the widening cracks in the 鈥渇ragile Marcos-Duterte relationship鈥� that left the education sector 鈥渟tuck in a cycle of crisis,鈥� SCAP said.
鈥淭his petty squabble has been at the expense of quality and accessible education for the Filipino youth,鈥� it said.