Sara: No crack in UniTeam despite rift with lawmakers

VICE President Sara Duterte yesterday maintained there is no crack in the “UniTeam” alliance because her working relationship with President Marcos Jr. remains good despite her rift with the leadership of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, who is a first cousin of the Chief Executive.

“Wala naman. Wala namang (lamat). (Nothing. There’s no crack),” Duterte told reporters at the sidelines of the “Bata, Bida Ka!” program for the 31st National Children’s Month.

“Ang UniTeam kasi (The UniTeam), it was a tandem during the elections. Ngayon naman, ang trabaho namin is hindi na pangangampanya. Ang trabaho namin is President and Vice President (But now, we are no longer campaigning. Our work is to be President and Vice President,” she added.

The Vice President said she has not heard any complaint from the President about her performance as concurrent secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

“With regard to our working relationship, wala akong narinig kay Pangulong Marcos na reklamo niya with regard sa trabaho namin sa DepEd (Department of Education). Tuloy tuloy lang iyong trabaho (I haven’t heard any complaint from President Marcos about our work in the DepEd. Our work continues),” she said.

The Vice President said she has yet to meet with the President after his announcement that calls for the country to rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) are now “under study.”

Last week, she slammed the House leadership for hearing the resolutions urging the government to cooperate with the ICC in pursuing its investigation on her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, saying that congressmen need to respect the stand that the President has taken against it.

The House joint committees on justice and on human rights last week started tackling House Resolution No. 1393 filed by the militant Makabayan bloc and HR No. 1477 authored by Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante, who chairs the human rights panel, and Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez (PL, 1-Rider).

The hearings started amid the continuing conflict between the House and the Vice President and her father over the move of congressmen to strip the requested 2024 confidential funds of the Office