Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday questioned the credibility of former Education Undersecretary Gloria Mercado, who had accused Duterte when she was Department of Education secretary of being behind the P50,000 in cash that another DepEd official handed to her in an envelop monthly.

“In light of the ongoing attempt to destroy my character, I would like to urge our lawmakers to stop using witnesses with no credibility or with questionable motives,” Duterte said in a statement in Filipino.

In the ongoing House inquiry into the budget use of the Office of the Vice President, Mercado, former Head of the Procuring Entity (HoPE) at DepEd, told House members that the alleged payoffs occurred in 2023.

Mercado claimed that between February and September 2023, she received a total of nine envelopes containing P50,000 each labeled “HOPE,” referring to her position at DepEd at the time.

“These envelopes were handed to me mostly by Assistant Secretary Sunshine M. Fajarda, who said they came directly from Vice President Duterte,” she said.

“What she would typically say as she handed the envelope was that I received it by virtue of my office as HoPE. Atty. Fajarda is the wife of Edward Fajarda, who is the Special Disbursement Officer,” the former DepEd official added.

Mercado said that one of her staff informed her that one of the field officers was asking if Mr. Fajarda had inquired about the bank accounts of several regional DepEd officials and if sharing such information with him was permitted.

“My office confirmed that it was upon the instruction of the Office of the Secretary. Evidently, it appears that regional directors and other field employees also received sums on top of their regular salaries,” she added.

Solicitation

On the other hand, Duterte claimed that Mercado had solicited P16 million from a private company using her name without authorization. “This was clearly illegal. She cannot deny this because there are documents, and she signed them herself,” Duterte said.

“She also insisted on providing a non-teaching item to a teacher in Region VII and made that person an executive assistant at the DepEd Central Office. The service record of this person can be found in the BHROD of DepEd,” the Vice President added.

Duterte also averred that Mercado intentionally delayed the appointment of the director of the Teacher Education Council.

“Apart from the pending corruption case, Mercado is also known for her habit of disparaging her colleagues, including other high-ranking officials of DepEd. She even attempted to tarnish the reputations of three DepEd officials in my presence,” she said.

Lie detector test

In response to Mercado’s allegations, a lawmaker challenged Duterte to undergo a lie detector test to substantiate her claims that the allegations against her were false.

House Assistant Majority Leader Jefferson Khonghun expressed skepticism about Duterte’s assertions, citing her refusal to take an oath during the previous hearing into the alleged misuse of DepEd funds.

“Usec Mercado’s testimony was made under oath while VP Duterte refused to take one. If VP Duterte is not hiding anything, there should be no issue with taking a lie detector test,” Khonghun said.

He added, “This is no longer just a matter of irregularity; it is a matter of integrity in public service. The Vice President should come clean, and she can only do that if she passes a lie detector test.”

Duterte skipped the resumption of the House probe on Wednesday, asserting that she would not participate in the inquiry based on “unsubstantiated allegations.”

House Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre said they will continue to hold subsequent hearings, even though Congress is currently on a month-long break.

“Personally, I want to know the extent of it. Because according to former Usec Gloria Mercado, there was another recipient (of cash). I believe that if there is one, there are probably more,” Acidre said in an interview on Thursday.

Mercado submitted the nine envelopes to the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, along with a receipt proving that she never took the money that totaled P450,000 for herself but donated it to a non-government organization.

Mercado retired in November 2023, a month after she was told to resign due to her purported refusal to follow orders from higher-ups to bypass the procurement process.