Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Tolentino is saddened by the resignation of Vice President Sara Duterte from her post in the Department of Education and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. 

Tolentino endorsed Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s candidacy in 2022.

“Nakakalungkot na nabasag yung UniTeam, nakakalungkot ding mabawasan ng isang miyembro ng gabinete although I am not part of the executive branch. I think that was a personal decision,” he said.

(It is saddening that the UniTeam has split, it is saddening to lose a Cabinet member.)

Sara Duterte quits Marcos Cabinet

“Nakakalungkot makakita ng naghiwalay, nag-away at ‘di nagkasundo,” he added.

(It is saddening to see people who split, quarreled and did not come to terms.)

What is needed now, according to Tolentino, is to respect Duterte’s decision and find a worthy replacement.

For his part, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian described Duterte's resignation as "purely political" since she was doing a great job in the Department of Education. 

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"There are a lot of very difficult decisions that she has to make and there's a lot of very different realities that she has to admit," he said in an ANC interview. 

He also pointed out that after the 2022 elections, members of the UniTeam composed of Marcos and Duterte allies and supporters did not meet again to discuss plans to move forward. 

'HUGE LOSS FOR MARCOS ADMINISTRATION'

Meanwhile, Salvador Panelo described Duterte's resignation from the Cabinet as a huge loss to the Marcos administration.

Panelo, who served as the Presidential legal counsel for the Duterte administration, said the vice president is one among the six performing Cabinet members who salvaged the "dismal performance of the other department secretaries."

Teachers’ groups welcome VP Duterte’s resignation as education secretary

"The departure from the Cabinet was forthcoming given the hostile environment the Vice President found herself in — created by the allies of PBBM who were in a hurry to diminish and dislodge her enviable leading spot in the 2028 presidential race," said Panelo in a statement.

He said Vice President Duterte has her reasons for leaving the Cabinet.

"The removal of a strong political ally, FGMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) from her position as Senior Deputy Speaker and later on as Deputy Speaker commenced the demolition job on VP Sara. This was followed by the almost unanimous approval of the removal of her confidential funds coming from the Office of the President," he said.

 "The ominous omission by PBBM to defend her on this issue added to her discomfort. The First Lady’s public disclosure of her displeasure on a perceived but misplaced slight reinforced the suffocating atmosphere."

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