Dating DepEd Usec. Gloria Mercado, nakatanggap umano ng mga sobreng may P50,000 mula raw kay VP Duterte

2 months ago

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Transcript

00:00Former Deputy Undersecretary Gloria Humami trusted Mercado that she has received money from Vice President and Deputy Undersecretary Sara Duterte several times.

00:12Vice President Duterte has no direct answer about the money, but he said that Mercado really resigned because of the issue of trust and confidence.

00:21Breaking news, by Oscar Oida.

00:23From February to September 2023, while serving as the head of the procurement entity of the Department of Education or DepEd,

00:35the former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado received the envelope for the first time.

00:40The contents are P50,000 per envelope.

00:44The envelope is usually received by Assistant Secretary Sunshine M. Paharda.

00:49It is said that it came from Vice President Sara Duterte.

00:52In the middle of listening, she took out the envelopes.

01:05According to Mercado, she never opened the envelopes when she was still serving in DepEd.

01:13I sought some advice and they just advised me to donate it to a non-government organization, which I did.

01:24And that's the only time that I opened these envelopes in front of the people that I was donating it.

01:30And it was P50,000 per envelope.

01:33The reason why you are considering all these concerns is because you believe that the envelope is a bribe.

01:40Do you agree? Yes or no, ma'am?

01:45It's kind of a harsh word to use, bribe.

01:52Or should I say, it is a means to influence your decision being the hope?

02:02It could be.

02:05In her affidavit, Mercado said that in October 2023,

02:09she was told by Attorney Reynold Monsayac, the former Assistant Secretary of DepEd, for procurement regarding a bidding.

02:16He suggested in the presence of other officials who was with me that the bidder should just discuss among themselves.

02:25Let's just discuss so that the money of 2023 will not be wasted.

02:30I firmly asserted that the procurement must be implemented and conducted in strict adherence with the rules.

02:37Following this, she was called by the Chief of Staff of the Vice President, Zulaika Lopez, and she was fired from her position.

02:47I was informed that I should tender my resignation effective that day.

02:51I refused to resign and I insisted on departing from service through voluntary retirement.

02:57The timing of my meeting with Ms. Zulaika struck me as more than coincidental.

03:02It gave me the impression that my candid responses was the real reason behind the push to relieve me of my office.

03:11Would you agree if I would say that your refusal of Attorney Reynold Monsayac to discuss the 2022 continuing fund is the reason why you are resigning, Atty. Zulaika?

03:28That's very speculative, ma'am.

03:31From your point of view, ma'am, it can be right, it can be wrong.

03:37But from your point of view, it could be.

03:40Atty. Monsayac was surprised by Mercado's refusal.

03:44I have no reason, interest, or inclination to issue an illegal order in a public place where there are people whom I don't even know.

03:56I said, what is your plan? If you will continue the post-qualification and it will expire, it will not reach December 2023.

04:07So, decide if you will revoke it.

04:10Because if you will revoke it, the fund will not be wasted and it will be utilized before the end of 2023.

04:17At a press conference, VP Sara Duterte said that Mercado was refused because of the issue of trust and confidence.

04:25She solicited 16 million pesos from a company on paper using my name without any authorization.

04:36The OVP issued a letter signed by Mercado where the name of Vice President Sara Duterte is mentioned.

04:43It includes the breakdown of the usable and total cost of 16 million pesos.

04:49Mercado responded appropriately to the hearing.

04:53So, we made a presentation to almost all the corporations.

04:57And then some of the corporations appreciated that it's a very important program.

05:02So, some of them committed.

05:04I explained properly. I did not solicit.

05:07There's no money involved there.

05:09These are equipments.

05:11There is no cash there.

05:13These are equipments that will be turned over to the DepEd.

05:17So, I feel very sad that up until now, the VP has not been appraised as I explained it to her people.

05:27In her opening statement, Congressman Joel Chua said that she heard accusations and insinuations

05:33from their committee that it was a political exercise or attack on an individual.

05:38Chua said that the committee just wanted to know how the OVP's Confidential Fund was spent.

05:46I must stress at this point that the sheer vastness of these potentially misused funds

05:53sets this matter apart from other instances of irregularity and disallowance.

06:00These amounts easily surpass the threshold for the crime of plunder under our laws.

Dating DepEd Usec. Gloria Mercado, nakatanggap umano ng mga sobreng may P50,000 mula raw kay VP Duterte | Balitanghali

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