A former official in the Department of Education (DepEd) revealed a supposed bribe swirling throughout the office during Vice President Sara Duterte's tenure as its secretary, involving envelopes containing P50,000.

At the second inquiry of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability into Duterte’s alleged fund misuse on Wednesday, former DepEd undersecretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado presented nine envelopes that Duterte had allegedly given to her from February 2023 to September of the same year. 

The envelopes, each containing P50,000, were labeled as HoPE or the Head of Procuring Entity—Mercado's concurrent position at the 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,” Mercado said while reading her affidavit.  

“‘From the VP,’ is what she would typically say as she hands the envelopes. It would appear that I received these envelopes by virtue of my office as HoPE,” she continued.

Apart from Mercado, DepEd regional directors and field officers also receive money "on top of their regular salaries,” the affidavit read.

Mercado suspected that the motives of those envelopes could be to influence her as HoPe chief. She claimed that the envelopes were never opened until after her retirement in November 2023, a month after she was forced to resign due to her purported refusal to heed the order of the higher-ups to bypass the procurement process.

"He suggested, in the presence of three other DepEd officials who I was with that the bidders should discuss among themselves. ‘[Mag-usap usap na lang, para hindi masayang ang 2022 budget’, according to Atty. Munsayac. I firmly asserted that the procurement must be implemented and conducted in strict adherence with the rules," she said. 

Munsayac, however, denied the allegations.

Weeks later, Mercado reckoned that Duterte’s chief-of-staff, Zuleika Lopez, asked her to tender her resignation immediately.

“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,” she expounded.

The money was later donated to a non-government organization. Mercado submitted to the panel the receipt serving as proof of the donation.

Duterte, however, rebuked Mercado's allegation, asserting she couldn't accept that she was ditched in DepEd.

In a briefing on Monday, the VP accused Mercado of soliciting P16 million in donations from the private sector without her knowledge, deeming her as a "disgruntled" former official and promising to provide a paper trail to back up her claims.

Mercado, meanwhile, countered that the P16 million in question was intended to fund equipment for the DepEd Guru app and other technological improvements aimed at connecting teachers and automating the agency's application process.

She emphasized that these donations were in the form of equipment, not cash, and that no improper actions were taken. 

Nonetheless, Mercado said she’s not guilty of the VP’s accusations, citing her 40 years of public service. 

Duterte headed the DepEd for nearly two years after her abrupt resignation last 19 June. She left the DepEd with P12.3 billion in disallowances, suspensions, and charges that remained unsettled by the year-end of 2023. These supposed irregularities along with those in the Office of the Vice President have been at the center of investigation of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability.