Philippines vice-President Sara Duterte resigned from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s Cabinet on June 19. - PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE
With her resignation, Sara is now free to position herself as an opposition figure against her erstwhile ally, said ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute fellow Dr Aries Arugay. Duterte resigned from her posts as education secretary and vice-chair of an anti-insurgency task force, without providing a reason. Her resignation is effective July 19 and she will remain as vice-president until her term officially ends in 2028.
The Marcos and Duterte families joined forces in 2022 for the presidential election, with Sara standing as Marcos’ vice-presidential running mate, allowing Marcos to tap the Duterte family’s huge support base and seal a comeback for the disgraced Marcos dynasty. Sara was once the top contender in the 2022 presidential race, but gave way to Marcos and instead formed their so-called “UniTeam” alliance. The scions of two well-entrenched political clans in the nation swept the polls, with Marcos getting 31 million votes and Sara garnering 32 million votes.Marcos began dropping key policies of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, Sara’s father, including the bloody drug war that is now being investigated by the International Criminal Court.