Former Education USec Gloria Jumamil Mercado reveals information about VP Sara staff
- Former Education Under-Secretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado revealed some information about events that transpired in DepEd involving the staff of VP Sara Duterte
- In an explosive revelation during a hearing of the Congressional Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, former USec Mercado claimed VP Sara’s chief-of-staff asked her to resign after she raised some concerns about a procurement of the agency
- The former DepEd USec also named former Education Assistant Secretary Reynold Munsayac as telling them bidders should “discuss among themselves” the bidding’s fate
- Mercado also claimed to have regularly received a total of nine envelopes, each said to contain P50,000, which she said came from VP Sara
PAY ATTENTION: stay informed and follow us on Google News!
Former Education Under-Secretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado revealed some explosive information about events that transpired at DepEd while she was still the department.
Source: Facebook
It can be recalled that former USec Mercado is one of the resource persons in the hearing of the Congressional Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.
In an explosive revelation, she said that she regularly received a total of nine envelopes, each containing P50,000 each, during her stint as Head of the Procuring Entity or HOPE.
She claimed the envelopes came from the office of then DepEd Secretary, Vice President Sara Duterte.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!
Mercado also said it was Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda who gave the envelopes to her and told her that it came from VP Sara.
She also said that while she received the envelopes, she did not open them, and only got to learn about its contents when she left the department.
When asked what the envelopes was for, Mercado said she can only speculate.
When pressed if she thought it was meant to influence her decisions as HOPE, she answered in the positive.
USec Mercado also revealed about an instance when former Education Assistant Secretary Reynold Munsayac approached her while having lunch with a co-official of DepEd and two consultants.
She said that former ASec Munsayac said it would be better for bidders in the agency’s computerization program to just “discuss among themselves” as regards the fate of the bidding.
When she started to raise concerns about the procurement of DepEd’s computerization program, she was then asked by VP Sara’s chief-of-staff to resign.
Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio, commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who currently serves as the 15th vice president of the Philippines. She is notable for being the third female vice president, the third vice president from Mindanao, and the youngest vice president in the country's history. Duterte held the position of secretary of education until July 19, 2024. She is the daughter of the 16th president, Rodrigo Duterte, and has served as the mayor of Davao City from 2016 to 2022 and from 2010 to 2013. Additionally, she was Davao City's vice mayor from 2007 to 2010.
It can be recalled that VP Sara herself recently faced the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability. However, she opted not to take her oath at the start of the hearing, while the rest of the witnesses and resource persons took their respective oaths. Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo defended the vice president and cited the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago for differentiating a resource person and a witness. She said that they cannot trivialize the issue and that the two are not the same.
Previously, VP Sara and OVP representatives were also no-show during the resumption of the budget hearing at the House of Representatives. At the beginning of the hearing, committee chairperson, Rep. Stella Quimbo, read a letter from the Office of the Vice President and decided to wait for an hour for any OVP representatives. It can be recalled that during the budget briefing of the OVP last August 24, the committee decided to defer its termination today, September 10. After an hour of waiting for a representative from the OVP, the hearing continued.
Bagong feature: Tingnan ang mga balitang para sa'yo ➡️ hanapin ang "Recommended for you" block at mag-enjoy!
Source: KAMI.com.gh
