Vice President Sara Duterte recently criticized the Philippine education system for relying heavily on outdated tools such as “paper and pencil.”
Her remarks triggered a response from legislators who highlighted shortcomings during her time as Secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).
ACT Teachers party-list Representative Antonio Tinio labeled Duterte as the worst education secretary in the country. He pointed to Duterte’s failure to provide essential educational resources like textbooks and cited poor management of the education budget during her tenure.
Critics emphasize that many issues Duterte now raises — including low budget utilization and ineffective program implementation — were left unaddressed when she led DepEd. This has renewed calls for accountability in tackling persistent problems in the education sector.