Camille Naredo

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the media at the Office of The Vice President in Mandaluyong City on December 11, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the media at the Office of The Vice President in Mandaluyong City on December 11, 2024, after skipping on the same day a National Bureau of Investigation probe on her remarks of having  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated should she be killed. Duterte stood firm that she would not present herself before the NBI saying that its inquiry was “unfair.” Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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Vice president-Sara Duterte-Presscon

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175058102534220241211-vpsd-presscon-MT-23.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the media at the Office of The Vice President in Mandaluyong City on December 11, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File"/>Vice President Sara Duterte speaks to the media at the Office of The Vice President in Mandaluyong City on December 11, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</div>MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte on Sunday admonished President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his administration, saying that his Cabinet has “no plans” and “no direction” amid pressing global issues including the war in Iran, the United States’ new tariff regime, and climate change. Marcos Jr. and his Cabinet have failed to prepare the Philippines for “global shocks,” Duterte said in a speech delivered before Filipinos in Melbourne, Australia. “I’ve been a member of the Cabinet and there is no plan at all, there was no direction at all,” said Duterte, who served as Marcos Jr.’s education secretary from 2022 to mid-2024. “We are not prepared for global shocks. Pansin ninyo wala ginawa ang Pilipinas sa [US] tariffs? May narinig ba kayo na preparation natin sa effect ng Iran and Israel conflict?” she asked. <div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/21/marcos-jr-on-sara-duterte-s-impeachment-it-s-between-house-senate-1259">Marcos Jr. on Sara Duterte’s impeachment: It’s between House, Senate </a> </div>“There is no long term plan on how we can be self sufficient in terms of food for everyone. We don’t see that,” she said. Last week, Marcos Jr. said that the Philippines has yet to order a mandatory evacuation of Filipinos in Israel and Iran amid ongoing air strikes, but noted that the government is ready to bring home those who would voluntarily leave the war-torn Middle Eastern countries. The President had also sent a team of officials to the Washington earlier this year to have a dialogue with their American counterparts after US President Donald Trump announced a new tariff system, while some of his economic managers maintained that the Philippines is in a better position compared to other countries that were slapped with higher tariffs. In Melbourne, Duterte also condemned the administration for claiming that Philippine economy is doing well, underscoring that progress has yet to be felt in ordinary communities. “Ang palagi nila sinasabi na ang ganda na ng ekonomiya natin… Maganda siya tingnan sa papel but you don’t see it at all in the everyday lives of the Filipinos,” the Vice President said. “There is nothing happening in our economy. Ang mayaman, mayaman pa rin. Yung mahirap, lalong naghirap. The poor is getting poorer,” she said. “We are not climate resilient at all. Wala tayong preparations sa climate change na makaka apekto sa atin sa Pilipinas.” The Philippines has been relying on remittances from overseas Filipinos to buoy the economy, Duterte said. <div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/22/sara-duterte-to-filipinos-in-melbourne-convince-australia-to-look-into-injustice-vs-digong-1601">Sara Duterte tells Filipinos in Melbourne: Urge Australia to look into &#x27;injustice&#x27; vs Digong</a> </div>“Ang problema natin ang inaasahan lang natin ay yung dollars ninyo. We are really very dependent on the remittances of Filipinos abroad. Yan ang nagpa-prop up ng economy ng Pilipinas,” she said. “Malaki ang pasalamat namin pero mali din na umaasa lang sa padala ng Filipino community na dollars,” she said. “So we need to come together and push for the administration to give what is rightfully for the country.” Duterte campaigned and emerged victorious with Marcos Jr. in the 2022 national elections, but their so-called “UniTeam” disbanded in mid-2024 after the Vice President resigned as the President’s education secretary. Duterte has since accused the administration of politicizing the national budget to favor their allies instead of equitably distributing tax payers’ money, while Marcos Jr’s allied in the House of Representatives questioned the Vice President’s spending of her confidential funds and other budget allocations. In early 2025, the House voted to impeach Duterte, but her trial remains in limbo as the Senate has yet to formally tackle the ouster case filed against her.<div> </div>

Vice President Sara Duterte admonished President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his administration, saying that his Cabinet has “no plans” and “no direction” amid pressing global issues including the war in Iran, the United States’ new tariff regime, and climate change.

Vice President Sara Duterte admonished President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his administration, saying that his Cabinet has “no plans” and “no direction” amid pressing global issues including the war in Iran, the United States’ new tariff regime, and climate change.

'No plan, no direction at all': VP Sara slams Marcos, Cabinet for lack of programs amid Iran war, climate change

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'No plan, no direction at all': VP Sara slams Marcos, Cabinet for lack of programs amid Iran war, climate change

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 22, 2025 04:42 PM PHT

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