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Former education undersecretary Gloria Mercado believes she was asked to resign from DepEd because of her unwillingness to skirt procurement guidelines
MANILA, Philippines – A former Department of Education official, in a damning testimony before a House committee, claimed that Vice President Sara Duterte gave her wads of cash on a regular basis when she became head of procuring entity (HOPE) of DepEd under Duterte’s leadership.
Former DepEd undersecretary Gloria Mercado, who faced the House good government committee on Wednesday, September 25, said she left the agency in October 2023, upon instruction from Duterte’s chief-of-staff to submit her resignation, and suspected it was because of her unwillingness to skirt procurement guidelines.
“Between February 2023 and September 2023, I received a total of nine envelopes labelled ‘HOPE,’ my concurrent position in DepEd during that time. These envelopes were handed to me monthly by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, which she says came directly from the office of Vice President Sara Duterte,” she said.
Pressed to clarify if the money was bribe money or payola, Mercado answered in the negative, saying those words are not part of her vocabulary, but when Luistro asked whether the envelopes were “a means to influence your decision as HOPE,” Mercado answered, “Could be.”
Mercado claimed she didn’t open the envelope until after she was already out of the agency and was not given a chance for an exit call to return the envelopes. She instead donated the money to a non-government organization, who gave her a receipt as proof of the donation.
“It was very uncomfortable on my part,” she said. “I have to protect [my] name. We are self-made. I was a scholar from Grade 1 until I took my PhD. I have all reasons to protect my name,” she said.
In her affidavit, Mercado also said that during her tenure with DepEd, she learned that Fajarda’s husband Edward, a special disbursement officer, inquired about bank accounts of several individuals in field offices, supposedly upon instructions from Duterte’s office.
“Evidently, it would appear that regional directors and other employees on the field would also receive sums on top of their regular salaries,” she said.
Rigged bidding?
Mercado also alleged that here was bidding irregularities during the Duterte’s time as DepEd chief.
“Sometime in October 2023, as the likelihood of a bidding failure for the DepEd Computerization Program became apparent, I was approached by Atty. Reynold Munsayac. He suggested, in the presence of three other DepEd officials who I was with, that the bidders should discuss among themselves.
“I firmly asserted that the procurement must be implemented and conducted in strict adherence with the rules,” she added.
Mercado claimed that weeks later, Duterte’s chief-of-staff Zuleika Lopez asked her to step down from her post and resign from DepEd.
“The timing of my meeting with Ms. Zuleika struck me as more than coincidental, it gave me the impression that my candid response to Atty. Munsayac’s suggestion was the real reason behind the push to relieve me of my office. It was as if l had become an unwelcome obstacle in the procurement process, despite simply doing my job as the HOPE and undersecretary for human resources of DepEd.
Munsayac told lawmakers the allegations are false.
“Wala akong dahilan o interes o inklinasyon na magbigay ng isang illegal na order sa isang pampublikong lugar na may mga tao na hindi ko man lang kilala (I have no reason or interest or inclination to give an illegal order in a public place filled with people I do not know),” Munsayac said.
Earlier in September, House lawmakers moved to compel the DepEd to release all bidding documents in relation to the DepEd Computerization Program in 2022 and 2023, when the agency was under Duterte.
Rappler has asked OVP spokesperson Michael Poa for comment on Mercado’s allegations, but he has yet to respond. We will update this story once the OVP responds.
The second day of the congressional probe not only looks into how Duterte utilized her funds in the Office of the Vice President, but also how she performed as education secretary.
Duterte in the past insisted she never misused public funds. – Rappler.com
