Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte quits Marcos Jnr’s cabinet in further sign of rift

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has officially resigned from her positions in the government of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, ending months of speculation about the state of their fraying political alliance.

After months of increasingly combative interactions between their two politically powerful clans, analysts say her resignations signal that the family of former president Rodrigo Duterte is ready to “go all out” in its political feud with the Marcos family.

Duterte-Carpio’s resignations from her positions as secretary of the Department of Education and vice-chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict were announced in a brief statement issued by the presidential palace on Wednesday.

The statement simply said, “She declined to give a reason why. She will continue to serve as Vice-President.”

Following the palace statement, Duterte-Carpio held a press conference where she extolled her accomplishments as education secretary – such as improving the basic education infrastructure, launching a new curriculum, and improving teachers’ welfare – but gave no specific reason for stepping down from her roles.

“My countrymen, my resignation is not due to weak resolve, but it is brought on by my genuine care for teachers and the Filipino youth,” she said.

Her departure from the cabinet came a week after she told reporters inquiring about her no-show at various palace functions, “We are not candidates any more.”

She explained that the “Bongbong-Sara Uniteam”, as they called themselves when they campaigned in the 2022 presidential election, was only a political “tandem” to get both elected.

It also occurred two months after the president’s wife, first lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos, said she