Former Education Undersecretary Gloria Mercado accused Vice President Sara Duterte of providing P50,000 to her undersecretaries and assistant secretaries every month.
In the investigation by the House Committee on Good Government and Accountability, Mercado, who previously headed the Procuring Entity (HoPE) of the DepEd, revealed that between February 2023 and September 2023, she received a total of nine envelopes marked “HOPE” referring to her position.
“These envelopes were handed to me monthly by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, who came directly from the office of Vice President Sara Duterte. It was said to be from VP. It seems I received these envelopes by virtue of my office as HoPE. Atty. Sunshine Fajarda is the wife of Edward D. Fajarda, who is the Special Disbursement Officer,” Mercado stated.
“My office confirmed that this was upon the instruction of the Office of the Secretary. Evidently, it seems that regional directors and other field employees also received sums on top of their regular salaries,” she added.
When Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro asked if the envelopes could be considered bribes, Mercado said that “bribe” was too “harsh” a word. She noted that if the money was intended to influence her in HoPE, that could be possible.
Mercado admitted that she was pressured to resign from the DepEd due to her refusal to accept negotiated procurement for the DepEd Computerization Program, particularly opposing the suggestion from former Education Assistant Secretary Reynold Munsayac that bidders should negotiate among themselves regarding bidding.
“Sometime in October 2023, as the likelihood of a bidding failure for DepEd computerization had become apparent, I was approached, sorry, by Atty. Munsayac and he suggested in the presence of other officials that the bidders should just discuss among themselves. ‘Let’s just talk to avoid wasting the 2023 funds’,” Mercado explained.
“I firmly asserted that the procurement must be implemented and conducted in strict adherence to the rules. Sometime in the 3rd or 4th week of October, I was summoned by Ms. Zuleika Lopez, the chief of staff to the Vice President and Undersecretary of the OVP. I was informed that I should tender my resignation effective that day,” she added.
“I refused to resign and insisted on leaving the service through voluntary retirement,” Mercado stated.
She confirmed that she was not the only one asked to resign from the DepEd, as other officials were also summoned. “There were other undersecretaries and assistant secretaries who were also summoned, all with the same purpose of informing them that they should tender their resignation effective on the same day,” she admitted.
On the part of DepEd Director Ferdinand Pitagan, he stated that only P2.18 billion of the P11.36 billion fund was allocated for computers, laptops, and smart television sets.
For her part, Duterte called Mercado a “disgruntled former employee. “I think she cannot accept why she was removed from the DepEd,” she said.
