President Ferdinand R. Marcos with Vice President Sara Duterte. (PCO Photo)
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. does not see any reason to replace Vice President Sara Duterte as Education Secretary amid her reported rift with First Lady Liza Marcos.
In an interview in San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on Tuesday, Marcos said Cabinet members will be replaced based solely on their performance.
“Any of the Cabinet secretaries will be replaced kapag hindi nila ginagawa yung trabaho nila (if they don’t do their jobs properly). All the other things are not part of the discussion,” Marcos told reporters.
“Kapag hindi na kaya, nagkasakit, sabihin mo lang, papalitan ka namin. Kapag hindi talaga marunong o kurap, tatanggalin ka talaga namin. Hindi naman ganun si Inday (When you can't do it anymore, if you’re sick, just tell us and we'll replace you. If you really can’t do the job or you’re corrupt, we will definitely fire you. Inday is not like that),” he added.
The President said this in response to calls for Duterte’s resignation from the Cabinet following the First Lady’s recent admission that she was no longer on good terms with Duterte after the latter attended a rally in Davao City where the chief executive was heavily criticized.
Marcos said the First Lady was just being protective of him but he assured the public that his relationship with Duterte will not be affected by the issue.
“My first reaction is what a lucky husband I am that I have a wife na very protective sa akin (that is very protective of me). Kapag may nakitang hindi magandang sinabi tungkol sa akin (when she heard other people speak ill of me), she gets very upset. We cannot blame her,” Marcos said.
“It will not affect our working relationship with the Vice President (and) Secretary of Education. I think that she also understands, as a wife, how the First Lady feels when you have to sit there and listen to these attacks that are being made against your husband,” he added.
Nonetheless, Marcos said he will speak with Duterte about the issue.
“Mag-uusap kami ni VP Sara tungkol diyan. ‘Wag lang masyadong dibdibin dahil hindi naman siya yung nagsabi dun sa kung anu-anong (kritisismo at paratang). Kaya madali naman sigurong plantsahin lahat ng naging issue (The Vice President and I will talk about his. Just don’t take to heart because she wasn’t the one who say those criticisms. I think we can iron out all those issues),” he said. (PNA)
