VP Sara Duterte Accused by Former DepEd Undersecretary of Showing Subordinates w/ Money
Former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado claimed that Vice President Sara Duterte allegedly gave her subordinates envelopes with cash.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s decision to leave the cabinet of Pres. Bongbong Marcos came as a surprise to many people. The two (2) highest officials in the government were running-mates in the 2022 Elections but their ties seemingly has a falling out.
Duterte resigned from being the DepEd secretary in July. According to her, it is out of compassion for the students and the teachers. Not long after her resignation, she admitted that there are both personal and work reasons behind her decision.
However, even if she is no longer the education secretary now, Vice Pres. Duterte cannot escape from the issues surrounding her term. On her stint, the Commission on Audit or COA ordered the DepEd to return the P12.3 billion misused budget in 2023.
COA also flagged the implementation of the feeding program of DepEd under the leadership of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte. There were reportedly negative feedback saying that some schools receive the food delayed or not in good condition already.
Recently, there is another serious accusation regarding the stint of Vice Pres. Duterte as DepEd secretary. Based on a report on GMA News Balitambayan, former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado accused the Vice President of allegedly giving her subordinates white envelopes with cash.
According to Mercado, between February 2023 to September 2023, she allegedly received a total of 9 envelopes which contain cash worth around Php 50,000. Based on the report, the former DepEd Undersecretary further claimed that the envelopes were allegedly handed to her by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda who told her that it came from the office of the Vice President.
Gloria Mercado also claimed that she was immediately ordered to tender her resignation when she did not support the negotiated procurement for the DepEd Computerization Program. Based on the report, the former DepEd Undersecretary said that she refused to resign and asserted that she will leave her job through a voluntary retirement.
When Batangas Representative Gerville Luistro asked her if the alleged envelope with cash is a “bribe”, Mercado stopped saying it is a harsh word to use. Luistro made a follow-up statement asking if it is meant to influence her decision as the head of Procuring Entity (HoPE) at DepEd, she expressed a positive possibility,