VP Sara resigns as DepEd chief

According to Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil, Duterte went to
Malacañang at 2:21 p.m. Wednesday to tender her resignation as Member of the Cabinet, Secretary of
the Department of Education and Vice Chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist
Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Garafil added that the Vice President did not provide a reason for her resignation

“She [Duterte] declined to give a reason why. She will continue to serve as Vice President. We thank her
for her service,” Garafil said, noting that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. accepted Duterte’s resignation
from the Cabinet.

Marcos appointed Duterte as education secretary upon their assumption to office on June 30, 2022.

Marcos and Duterte ran and won convincingly under the UniTeam Coalition in the 2022 election.

In a speech at the DepEd Main Office in Pasig City, Duterte assured an orderly transition as she
confirmed her resignation.

“Ano mang kwento, kahit gaano kaganda ay sadyang nagtatapos rin (Whatever story, no matter how
good, still comes to an end). Earlier today, June 19, 2024, I sought an audience with the President and
tendered my resignation as the Secretary of Education effective July 19, 2024,” she said.

“I have given my 30-day notice to ensure the proper and orderly transition for the benefit of the next
secretary,” she added.

Duterte expressed her gratitude for the support of all teachers, non-teaching personnel, local
government units, and private stakeholders as she pushed for reforms in the education sector.

She also vowed to continue advocating for the rights and welfare of all teachers and learners in the
country.

Under Duterte’s leadership, the DepEd has launched its MATATAG Agenda to address challenges in the
quality of the education sector.

The MATATAG Agenda stands for MAke the curriculum relevant to produce competent and job-ready,
active, and responsible citizens; TAke steps to accelerate delivery of basic education facilities and
services; TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusive education, and a positive
learning environment; and Give support to teachers to teach better.

Education as tool vs. insurgency

Duterte's stint at the DepEd was marked by ongoing efforts to improve the country's educational system,
considered one of the important tools in combating local communist insurgency, NTF-ELCAC executive
director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said.

"She spearheaded various programs aimed at improving the quality of education and making it more
accessible, thereby addressing one of the key factors contributing to local conflicts," Torres said. "Her
leadership has also emphasized the importance of education as a vital component in combating
insurgency."

Torres thanked Duterte for her "invaluable contributions and leadership," saying dedication to the task
force has resulted in numerous successful initiatives and operations that have strengthened the resolve
and capacity of communities to stand against insurgency.

"We wish her success in her future endeavors and are confident that she will continue to serve the
Filipino people with the same passion and dedication," Torres said.

Senators weigh in

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said
Duterte’s resignation as DepEd secretary “is a big loss” as the “political will” of the vice president is
important in putting the directions of the education sector in “one direction.”

"Ang isang pangunahing dahilan kung bakit itinalaga [ni President Marcos] si Vice President Sara dahil
binibigyan ng priority yung (One of the main reasons why [President Marcos] appointed Vice President
Sara is because he prioritizes the) education sector," Gatchalian said during the Kapihan sa Senado.

He said he is hoping that existing programs and policies being implemented by the DepEd will continue
despite her resignation.

For Senate Majority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, President Marcos should appoint a new DepEd chief
who has “experience and good track record” in the education sector.

"This person must be someone who has worked with or in the department for decades. Someone
familiar with how the department works as well as with the problems of the education sector and
educational system. Someone who has dedicated his or her life to education and can show the track
record for it," Pimentel said in a Viber message to reporters.

Meanwhile, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa trusts that Duterte's decision was "well thought of."

"I believe it was a choice that took into consideration the best interest of our people, as has always been
characteristic of her. I fully trust that she will continue to fulfill her mandate as the Vice President of the
Philippines and help uplift the lives of every Filipino. After all, beyond her titles, it is her integrity that
defines her leadership, and it is this integrity that she shall always uphold," dela Rosa said in another
Viber message.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman expressed hope that the issues hounding Philippine education will be resolved
as a result of Duterte's resignation.

Lagman also hoped that Duterte's replacement would come from the ranks of "experienced and
dedicated educators who can efficiently steer and professionally manage" the country's educational
system.

He noted that Duterte’s departure from a prime position in the President’s Cabinet signifies the end of
the "increasingly tenuous partisan relations" between the Marcos and Duterte political power blocs.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro expressed optimism that President Marcos would appoint a
DepEd secretary with experience in the field who would truly serve the education sector.
GABRIELA Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said Duterte's resignation as DepEd secretary highlights the
urgent need to appoint a genuine public servant who will prioritize uplifting the long-neglected
education sector.

"From the very start, the Vice President had no real intention of addressing the crisis in our education
system," Brosas said.

Brosas described Duterte's exit as a political move in preparation for the 2025 elections to "set the stage
for a potential power struggle" between the Duterte and Marcos factions.

Manila Rep. Joel Chua said the breakdown of Duterte's alliance with President Marcos under the
UniTeam exposed the Vice President's "false façade of unity" that was merely maintained for "election
purposes".
VP Sara Duterte resigns as DepEd
secretary
MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte quit President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet, putting
the final nail in the coffin of the Uniteam political alliance that won the 2022 elections in a landslide.

Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said on Wednesday, June 19, that Duterte
resigned as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary and vice chairperson of the National Task Force
to End Local Communist Armed Conflict at 2:21 pm the same day.

Marcos has accepted the resignation.

“She declined to give a reason why. She will continue to serve as Vice President. We thank her for her
service,” Garafil added.

In a press conference after her resignation, Duterte also did not provide a reason for her exit from the
Marcos Cabinet, but said the move is not a sign of weakness.

“Mga kababayan, ang aking pagbibitiw ay hindi lulan ng kahinaan kundi dala ng tunay na malasakit para
sa ating mga guro at kabataang Pilipino (My resignation is not from a place of weakness, but is brought
about by my genuine concern for teachers and the Filipino youth),” Duterte said.

The DepEd had sent out an invitation to the media for a press briefing a day earlier on Tuesday, June 18,
and said in the advisory that it was on the “DepEd’s upcoming events” with DepEd Undersecretary
Michael Poa presiding. The advisory also did not include Duterte’s name.

On the day itself, while reporters were waiting for the presser to start, the table bearing Poa’s name
plate in front of the press conference venue was replaced with Duterte’s podium. This signaled Duterte’s
presence at the press briefing – an unusual turn of events as she had never done a press briefing with
the media since she became education secretary. She did not take questions after she read her prepared
statement.

Malacañang released the announcement on Duterte’s resignation 15 minutes before the scheduled
DepEd press conference.

The Marcoses and the Dutertes – two major political families in the Philippines – teamed up in the 2022
polls, a partnership that catapulted the dictator’s son and the outgoing president’s daughter to the
country’s two highest posts.

It was, according to analysts, a “marriage of convenience” that has been difficult to maintain.

The Vice President has a feud with the President’s cousin, Speaker Martin Romualdez, reflected by the
House of Representatives’ move to deny Duterte’s request for confidential funds in the 2024 budget.
Arrested preacher Apollo Quiboloy
files candidacy for senator
MANILA, Philippines – Count arrested doomsday preacher Apollo Quiboloy among the disparate crowd
of aspirants seeking a senatorial post in the 2025 elections.

Commission on Elections spokesman John Rex Laudiangco told reporters on Tuesday, October 8, that
Quiboloy — who has been on the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most-wanted list since
2022 — filed his certificate of candidacy through an authorized representative.

“Pastor Apollo Quiboloy is running for senator of the Republic of the Philippines because he wants to be
part of the solution in our country,” his lawyer Mark Tolentino told reporters.

Tolentino said the embattled preacher’s platform includes advocating for religious freedom, protecting
the poor, making medical services more accessible, education, and “zero corruption.

The self-styled “appointed son of god” is currently under the custody of the Philippine National Police.

His COC indicates that the Workers’ and Peasants’ Party (WPP) nominated him. However, party president
Sonny Matula said he did not sign a Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance for Quiboloy. The other
two WPP officers — chairperson Ariel Arias and senior vice president Oscar Morado — also have “no
knowledge of signing a CONA for him.”

“We will be inquiring from COMELEC who signed his CONA,” Matula said.
 Hontiveros: ‘Don’t vote for lawbreakers’

In a statement on Wednesday, October 9, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros urged Filipinos

not to vote for Quiboloy.

“Karapatan nga ng bawat isa sa ating tumakbo para maglingkod sa bayan, pero nagtitiwala
akong may sapat na kaalaman tayong mga Pilipino para gamitin natin ang ating karapatang
pumili ng ating mga lider para hindi iboto si Quiboloy,” Hontiveros said.

(Every one of us has the right to run for public office to serve the country, but I trust that we
Filipinos have enough knowledge to use our right to choose our leaders and not vote for
Quiboloy.)

“Let us not elect lawbreakers as lawmakers,” the senator added.

The Senate committee on women children, family relations, and gender equality led by
Hontiveros has been leading the probe into allegations of “large-scale human trafficking, rape,
sexual abuse and violence, and child abuse” in the Quiboloy-led Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Hontiveros’ office said that the Senate panel is set to resume its hearing this October.

Quiboloy founded the Kingdom of Jesus Christ , the Name Above Every Name and began
preaching to just 15 members in 1985 in Davao City. His church, where he is a senior pastor,
claims to now have 4 million followers across the Philippines and another 2 million abroad.

But KOJC is no ordinary church.

The crime and fraud that go behind the scenes of KOJC began to surface in recent years .

Rappler’s investigative reports published in December 2021 detail how he manipulated and
sexually exploited minors and women part of his church and even involved his followers into a
network of fraud. Read the stories below:

 Quiboloy sexually abused women, minors – ex-followers, US prosecutors

 ‘Root of all evil’: Quiboloy church’s demands for money mire followers in debt
 Stolen lives, lost identities: Quiboloy’s ex-followers traumatized for years
 ‘All a bunch of nonsense,’ says lawyer of accusations against Quiboloy
 THE CASE VS QUIBOLOY | Years of alleged abuse, fraud catch up with Davao
preacher

He now currently faces a number of abuse and trafficking cases in the Philippines and the US.

Quiboloy is facing bailable charges of sexual abuse of minors and child cruelty at the Quezon
City Regional Trial Court. This is on top of human trafficking charges at the Pasig City
Regional Trial Court, which he has pleaded not guilty to on September 13.
In the United States, Quiboloy is charged with the following:

 Sex trafficking by force

 Fraud and coercion
 Sex trafficking of children
 Marriage fraud
 Fraud and misuse of visas
 Bulk cash smuggling
 Promotional money laundering
 Concealment money laundering
 International promotional money laundering

Philippine authorities arrested Quiboloy on September 9 in Davao City after nearly a five-
month manhunt. (READ: Police played Apollo Quiboloy’s ‘game’ until told to ‘finish it’ )

The doomsday preacher would first have to face charges in the Philippines before authorities
can consider extraditing him to the US.

Meanwhile, Quiboloy also oversees the operation of Sonshine Media Network

International (SMNI), a fake news network that has targeted activists, politicians, and one that
has also red-tagged individuals and groups.

The network was stripped of its franchise in March after program hosts Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz
and consistent red-tagger Lorraine Badoy aired unverified information against House Speaker
Martin Romualdez, which then prompted an investigation at the lower chamber.
– Rappler.com