DISMISSIVE might be a good adjective to describe Vice President Sara Duterte’s responses to the allegations thrown against her.
Way back in 2019, when asked about a significant increase in her net worth following her father’s rise to power, she arrogantly declared: “I am only accountable to the people and to the laws of the land.” Then added, “I am not accountable to the PCIJ,” referring to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) that ran a three-part series on the Dutertes’ new wealth.
“What we earned outside [of government] is none of your business, actually.”
Then, as vice president, she refused to explain why acknowledgment receipts that her office submitted to the Commission on Audit showed her confidential funds going to fictitious people like Mary Grace Piattos, Fernando Tempura, Carlos Miguel Oishi, Reymunda Jane Nova and Chippy McDonald.
To date, she has not provided a direct explanation regarding the specific identity of “Mary Grace Piattos” or the other names that are clearly a combination of junk food brands and restaurants.
Instead, she has let her legal team make sweeping statements dismissing the allegations as political attacks and promise that the accusations will be answered “at the proper forum.”
They have followed up on this promise by running to the Supreme Court twice since 2025 to stop impeachment proceedings against her.
In the meantime, she took the same dismissive tone to address testimony this month by her alleged bagman that he distributed P125 million in confidential funds from her office to various recipients in less than 24 hours on her orders. “They cannot even weave a believable lie,” she said, referring to the House Committee on Justice and its witnesses.
So, I was a little surprised when she gave a rather detailed (for her) response to her alleged bagman’s claims that a former associate dean of the San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) College of Law told him that “Sara was not particularly good in school, was often struggling with her academics, and was habitually rude and violent to other students.” He also claimed that the former associate dean told him that he used his influence “to ensure that Sara received passing grades despite her poor academic performance.”
Duterte’s response was longer and more detailed than any answer she has given regarding the impeachable offenses ranged against her.
“I completed my studies on my own terms. I placed a higher premium on living a well-rounded life rather than pursuing academic excellence. I never asked any professor for special accommodation for my grades because the bare minimum was easy enough to meet. I was never the subject of any complaint for rudeness or violence against other students at SSC-R College of Law.”
Wanting a little more, I ran the response through a BS translator (i.e., Google Gemini) and here’s what I got:
In plain English, it means: “I prioritized my personal life over my grades, and I probably graduated with a low GPA (or didn’t finish).”
It’s a classic example of corporate-speak or “resume fluff” used to reframe a lack of academic achievement as a conscious, noble choice. Here is the breakdown of what those phrases are usually masking:
On my own terms: This usually implies the speaker didn’t follow the traditional path — perhaps they took a long time to finish, dropped out, or refused to follow the standard curriculum.
Higher premium on living a well-rounded life: This is code for “I spent more time socializing, working, or pursuing hobbies than studying.”
Rather than pursuing academic excellence: This is the most honest part of the sentence; it’s a polite way of saying “I didn’t get good grades.”
The verdict
The person is trying to say they aren’t “book smart” or a “straight-A student,” but they want you to believe it’s because they were busy becoming a more “interesting” or “balanced” person, rather than just being bad at school.
I can’t wait to run the vice president’s own explanation about Mary Grace Piattos, assuming she ever gives one — through my BS translator. All in due time, at the right forum, of course.
