Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte announced on Wednesday that she had resigned from President Ferdinand Marcos' cabinet, after tensions between the two families in recent months escalated into a public rift.
President Duterte did not give a clear reason for his resignation, but he is stepping down as education secretary ahead of midterm and local elections scheduled for next year.
The vice president's father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Marcos have been at public rifts as the two families seek to shore up their rival bases and secure key positions ahead of the 2028 midterm and presidential elections.
Marcos and Duterte worked together and won a landslide victory in the May 2022 presidential and vice presidential elections.
Presidential spokesman Cheloy Garafil told reporters that Duterte had “resigned from his cabinet positions” and would step down as education secretary, adding that he would remain in his role as vice president.
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Duterte also resigned as vice-chairman of the National Task Force to End the Communist Armed Conflict in the country.
The 46-year-old vice president would take over as president if the 66-year-old Marcos dies or becomes unable to perform his duties during his six-year term.
Garrafil said the vice president did not give a reason for his resignation, but that Marcos had accepted it.
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“We thank her for her service,” Garafil added.
Duterte said at a separate press conference that he had met with the president to inform him that he would step down effective July 19.
“No matter how beautiful a story it is, it has to end someday,” she told reporters.
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“Even if I am no longer the superintendent, I will continue to be a mother who will protect and defend the rights of every teacher and every student in the Philippines.”
She thanked teachers, collaborating agencies and the government for their efforts in improving the country's education system.
Relations between the Marcoses and Dutertes have deteriorated sharply over the past two years.
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Speaking at a rally in his hometown of Davao on January 28, President Duterte denounced President Marcos as a “drug addict,” while his youngest son, President Sebastian Duterte, said Marcos should step down.
Marcos hit back the next day, alleging that his predecessor's long-term use of fentanyl, a powerful opioid, had damaged his health.
Neither man presented evidence regarding the other's alleged drug use.
The former president also called on the military and police to remove Marcos from power if he went ahead with constitutional reforms and threatened to secede his southern home island of Mindanao.
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