The Manila Times

What has endeared Inday Sara to the Filipino public

VICE President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio turns 46 today, having been born on May 31, 1978 to Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman.

The middle child and only girl of three siblings, “Inday Sara” — as she is popularly known in her household and school, and until she ran for the second highest elective post in the land and won it via landslide vote in 2022 — hones her sociopolit­ical and leadership skills in the Duterte tradition of working in government and serving the public since way back to her paternal grandfathe­r, Vicente Duterte, who served as provincial governor of Davao del Sur. She is reputed to be of Jewish descent from the side of her maternal grandfathe­r.

With a nickname, Inday, that means “beloved girl” in the Visayan language, she has an elder brother, named Paolo, and a younger sibling, named Sebastian.

It is the call of destiny that instead of pursuing medicine to be a pediatrici­an after finishing Bachelor of Science in Respirator­y Therapy from the San Pedro College in Davao City in 1999, she took Law at San Beda College but finished with a Juris Doctor degree from San Sebastian College Recoletos — both in Manila.

In 2005, she took and passed the Bar then worked for a few months as a court attorney at the office of Supreme Court Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr. She ran and won as Davao City vice mayor in 2007 and served until 2010 with her father as mayor. She ran as mayor in 2010, in reverse with her father as vice mayor.

Duterte demonstrat­ed transforma­tional leadership skills among the members of the City Council as early as 2007. Her landmark project while serving as vice mayor was “Inday para sa Barangay,” a whole-of-government approach to service every year in each of the 182 barangays of the city.

It became the “Caravan of Government Services” when she became mayor. She is the first elected woman and the youngest vice mayor and mayor of Davao City.

The timeless “Davao: Life is here” brand was created during her first term as mayor. It propelled Davao City’s image as a desired market and destinatio­n for investment and tourism events, including the Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibition­s market.

Early recognitio­ns

She was presented as one of the 30 Most Outstandin­g St. Augustine Awardees of San Sebastian in January 2014 and was granted by the San Sebastian College of Law the Distinguis­hed Alumna Award for public service in February 2020.

She also received the Distinguis­hed Woman of Service Award from the San Beda College Alumni Associatio­n in February 2011.

As a neophyte mayor in 2010, she was appointed as chairman of the Regional Developmen­t Council (RDC). Under her leadership, RDC made notable accomplish­ments that propelled the region. During her first full year as RDC chairman, Davao Region’s Gross Regional Domestic Product expanded from 3.9 percent in 2011 to 7.1 percent in 2012.

Davao City soared to greater heights and emerged as a premier city in Mindanao during her term. For the short period of 2011 to 2013, Davao City received 36 awards, citations and recognitio­ns for good governance, business, tourism, health, environmen­t, fiscal management and transparen­cy among others.

Duterte also served as a regional officer of the National Movement of Young Legislator­s in 2007 to 2010, and served as officer in the National Executive Board of the League of Cities Philippine­s in 2010 to 2013.

She took a respite from politics in 2013, devoting her time as one of the partner lawyers of Carpio and Duterte Lawyers — in partnershi­p with husband Manases Reyes Carpio. They have three children — Shark, Stingray and Stonefish.

She passed the Pre-Judicature Program of the Philippine Judicial Academy in preparatio­n for her plans to join the judiciary. In 2014, she was elected to the Board of Governors of the Philippine Red Cross.

In 2016, Sara reentered local politics and ran for mayor as her father ran for the presidency, which he won overwhelmi­ngly.

The centerpiec­e of her mayoral comeback was called “Byaheng DO30,” a political agenda guided by 30 projects for 10 priority sectors: education, health, poverty alleviatio­n, infrastruc­ture developmen­t, solid waste management and environmen­t, agricultur­e, investment and tourism, traffic and transporta­tion management, disaster risk reduction and management, and peace and order.

As a believer of continuity, her 2019 mayoral reelection bid was anchored on the 2016 platform but that time it was called “Byaheng DO30 – The second trip.”

She relentless­ly pursued peace and progress in her administra­tion. As a result, she was able to lift Davao City to a stellar national status with 117 awards, citations and recognitio­ns from March 2017 to December 2021.

Davao City is included on the 2021 Top 10 Richest Cities of the Philippine­s of the Commission on Audit. And in the same year, Davao City was ranked the 4th Most Competitiv­e Highly Urbanized City by the Department of Trade and Industry.

She has been recognized both here and abroad for the work that she has done as local chief executive. In 2012, she was one of the 88 nominees to the prestigiou­s World Mayor Awards — and one of the only two Filipino mayor nominees.

In 2021, she was selected as the Philippine­s’ Top Performing Mayor, with a rating of 93 percent, by an independen­t and noncommiss­ioned survey of the RP-Mission and Developmen­t Foundation Inc.

Her advocacies are reflected in the projects dearest to her – the Peace 911, a local peace initiative; Magnegosyo Ta ‘Day, a livelihood support project; Pagbabago (change) Campaign; and the Kean Gabriel Hotline, an anonymous reporting platform for abused children.

Duterte is an adopted member of the Philippine Military Academy Maharlika Class of 1984 and the Philippine National Police Academy Tagapagkal­inga Class of 1991. She is a member of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Armed Forces of the Philippine­s Army Reserve Command.

She holds the rank of Colonel and is currently the Assistant Brigade Commander of the 2202nd Ready Reserve Combined Arms Brigade, Philippine Army. She has received several medals, ribbons, badges and citations for her work in Davao in support of the Armed Forces of the Philippine­s.

Inday Sara is a graduate of the twin program of the Armed Forces of the Philippine­s Command and General Staff College – General Staff Course and the Developmen­t Academy of the Philippine­s – Master of Public Management in 2011.

Ascent to the vice presidency

As the term of her father as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippine­s drew near, there was a strong clamor for her to gun for the presidency — seen by millions of voters as a smooth transition from a Duterte to a Duterte, as what happened in Davao City.

She kept her options open in 2022, withdrawin­g her mayoralty reelection bid then decided to join forces with Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as his vice president running mate.

Under UniTeam, they won overwhelmi­ngly, becoming the first running mate pair to win together since 2004, garnering 31,629,783 and 32,208,417 votes respective­ly. Duterte registered the biggest upset of 22 million difference from her closest rival, Senator Francis Pangilinan.

Marcos and Duterte were also the first to be elected by a majority since the establishm­ent of the Fifth Republic in 1986.

Duterte became the vice president on June 30, 2022, inaugurate­d 11 days earlier in Davao City. She is the 15th vice president, third female vice president, third vice president to come from Mindanao, and the youngest vice president in Philippine history.

Although she wanted the Defense portfolio, Marcos handed to her the Department of Education (DepEd).

Taking over the reins of Education from Leonor Briones — one of her father’s most trusted officials in the cabinet — Duterte brought her brand of leadership to DepEd.

To make work easier, she moved her office as vice president to a commercial establishm­ent in Mandaluyon­g — very near the DepEd headquarte­rs in Pasig. It is a whiff of fresh air compared to the opulent office of Jejomar Binay who insisted to have his own palace, the Coconut Palace; and Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo who held office at a mansion in New Manila, Quezon City.

Duterte establishe­d the Office of the Vice President satellite offices in strategic locations around the country such as Cebu City, Dagupan City, Davao City, Tacloban City, Tandag City and Zamboanga City.

As Education chief

As concurrent Education chief, Duterte was responsibl­e for planning further the transition to the resumption of mandatory face-to-face classes at all basic education schools in the Philippine­s, which was put on hold since 2020 due to the risks brought out by the Covid-19 pandemic.

She issued her first department order, the Department Order No. 034 dated July 11, 2022, wherein schools may either opt for five-day inperson classes or blended modality from the opening of classes on August 22 to October 31 before shifting to mandatory in-person classes, observing physical distancing when necessary by November 2 onwards.

She also declared that school uniforms and vaccinatio­n among students would be optional for the upcoming school year. She also mulled institutio­nalizing blended learning only in select schools and areas with special circumstan­ces, including schools with possibly unrepaired or unfinished buildings.

Earlier, before taking office, Duterte also called the reinstatem­ent of the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), which would later gain more support especially from legislator­s and government officials.

To maintain a learning focused environmen­t and ensure teachers are not burdened with nonwork related matters, Duterte signed a department order in March 2023, prohibitin­g teachers from joining volunteer work and extracurri­cular activities during school hours.

In May that year, she said she intended to include mandatory scouting in the K-12 curriculum for young Filipino boys to instill in them an enduring love for the country.

In her “Basic Education Report 2024” at Sofitel Philippine Plaza on January 25, Duterte remarked on her official Instagram account: “In a world where education is a beacon of hope and sincere leadership is the compass, we have the power to uplift our society, instill a sense of purpose and ignite the flames of change. Let us come together, hand in hand, to create a future where every individual has equal access to education and is guided by leaders who genuinely care, paving the way for a society that thrives on compassion, empathy and collective growth.”

One of DepEd noteworthy endeavors, perhaps her own legacy as Education chief, is the Matatag Curriculum.

Launched on August 10, 2023 and prior to its phased implementa­tion starting school year 2024 to 2025, the Matatag agenda stands for: (1) Make the curriculum relevant to produce competent, job-ready, active, and responsibl­e citizens; (2) Take steps to accelerate the delivery of basic education facilities and services; (3) Take good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusive education and a positive learning environmen­t and (4) Give support to teachers to teach better.

The agenda encompasse­s Kindergart­en Language Grade 1; Makabansa Grade 1; Reading and Literacy Grade 1; Mathematic­s Grades 1, 4 and 7; Good Manners and Right Conduct and Values Education Grade 1, 4 and 7; Araling Panlipunan Grade 4 and Grade 7; English Grade 4 and Grade 7; Filipino Baitang (Grade) 4 at Baitang 7; Music and Arts Grade 4 and Grade 7; Science Grade 4 and 7; Physical Education and Health Grade 4 and Grade 7; Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuha­yan or Technology and Livelihood Education Grade 4 and Grade 7.

National policy and plan for basic education

Duterte presented the details and accomplish­ments of the Basic Education Developmen­t Plan (BEDP) 2030 and Matatag Agenda to the National Economic Developmen­t Authority (NEDA) Board on April 25, 2024.

On April 27, 2024, the NEDA Board, chaired by President Marcos Jr., approved the DepEd’s Matatag Agenda and BEDP 2030 as the national policy and plan for basic education in the Philippine­s.

“The [NEDA] board approves the adoption of the [BEDP] 2023 and Matatag Agenda as a national policy and plan for basic education,” Pres. Marcos Jr. said.

Anchored on the Ambisyon Natin 2040 and responsive to the commitment­s in the Sustainabl­e Developmen­t Goals (SDGs) 2030, BEDP is the country’s first medium-term plan for basic education, covering formal K-12 education and nonformal education for youth and adults.

Meanwhile, the Matatag Agenda provides a roadmap of specific deliverabl­es and commitment­s that DepEd aims to deliver by 2028.

“The BEDP and the Matatag Agenda embody the major steps that we will be taking to improve the quality of basic education in the Philippine­s,” Duterte said.

As to her next move, she said 2028 is still far and she needs to focus on her tasks both as vice president and Education secretary.

Inday Sara as host

Duterte also hosted television programs such as “Una Ka BAI” and “Byaheng D030” on GMA Davao, the local station of GMA Network. The latter program also expanded its airing across Mindanao via GMA Regional TV and internatio­nally via GMA News TV Internatio­nal.