ABS-CBN
Sara Duterte says former DepEd exec part of 'political machinery'
Former Education Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado testified before a House committee that she received monthly envelopes containing P50,000 cash from Vice President Sara Duterte's office, allegedly handed by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda.
Mercado stated the envelopes were marked 'P50K' and the month, bearing the acronym 'HOPE,' her designation as Head of the Procuring Entity at DepEd.
She claimed that her forced resignation in October 2023 was due to her unwillingness to bypass procurement guidelines.
Mercado has donated the total P450,000 in cash to a non-government organization and turned over the empty envelopes to the House committee.
Vice President Sara Duterte challenged Mercado to present documents to prove her claims, calling her a "disgruntled former employee" and alleging Mercado is part of a "political machinery" against her.
Duterte questioned Mercado's credibility and urged lawmakers to "stop using witnesses without credibility."
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Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun challenged Vice President Sara Duterte to take a lie detector test to verify claims made by retired DepEd undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado.
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