Gloria Jumamil-Mercado (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook)

Retired Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado admitted to feeling "sad and hurt" after she was assailed by her former boss at the agency, Vice President Sara Duterte. 

Mercado, 65, formerly designated as DepEd's Head of Procuring Entity ("HoPE"), testified before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on Wednesday, Sept. 25 that she received monthly envelopes containing P50,000 each from February to September 2023. 

"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," she narrated to the panel. 

"(G)aling kay VP (This is from 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. Atty. Sunshine Fajarda is the wife of Edward D. Fajarda who is the Special Disbursement Officer," said Mercado, who spent 40 years in government service. 

While Mercado didn't accuse Vice President Duterte of anything during the course of the House hearing, the latter concurrently held a press conference to deny the envelope "gifts". The Vice President also maligned her character. 

"At least Mr. Chair," said Deputy Majority Leader Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, "I would know that the Vice President is watching us, because she just had a press conference and she said that she's denying giving former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado P50,000 for nine months." 

"The Vice President says that Mercado was let go because she used DepEd to solicit donations from the private sector amounting to P16 million without her knowledge," Acidre said. The Vice President further tagged the resource person "a disgruntled former DepEd official". 

"It's very sad," Mercado said, and she took out a small drawstring bag from her purse. It contained the nine envelopes, which were now empty. 

"I don't want to do this but since siya na yung nagsabi, i-turn over ko na yung envelopes. The envelopes where the money was. So its nine envelopes. It says HoPE and the amount is there," she said. 

"Ang sakit naman nun, ordinaryo lang akong trabahante tapos ina-ano ka ng Vice President di ba. It's very painful," added the visibly distraught Mercado. 

(That's painful, I'm just an ordinary worker and the Vice President is doing this to me. It's very painful.) 

Vice President Duterte served as DepEd secretary from June 30, 2022 to July 19, 2024.

(Screenshot from livestream)

What were the envelopes for?

Mercado--who struck the congressmen as a straight-shooter--told the good government panel that she never opened the envelopes to confirm their contents. 

She said repeatedly during the interpellation of the solons that she was uncomfortable with receiving such envelopes from then-DepEd chief. 

Asked by Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro if she felt that the envelopes were supposed to "influence" her decision given her position at the department, Mercado answered, "It could be." 

It was only after her retirement that Mercado, with her confidantes, decided to open the envelopes and donate the contents totalling P450,000 to an undisclosed non-government organization. 

Mercado denied that she ever solicited money from private firms to the detriment of DepEd. 

"The two corporations are willing to give an affidavit that I have no solicitation from them of P16 million...It makes it very sad because she's saying it. Ibig sabihin (The means) her people did not explain to her. 

She said the projects in question involved two official DepEd information technology (IT) endeavors, the solicitation of which was handled an "external partnership". 

Tender your resignation 

Mercado was rather unceremoniously asked to resign from DepEd during the latter half of October 2023, according to her affidavit. 

"I was summoned by Zuleika Lopez, the Chief of Staff of Vice President Duterte and Undersecretary at the Office of the Vice President. I was informed that I should tender my resignation effective that day. I refused to resign and insisted on departing from the service through voluntary retirement," she said. 

Just weeks before this, Mercado said another former DepEd official, lawyer Reynold Munsayac, approached her regarding the DepEd Computerization Program, which she said was heading toward a failure of bidding. 

"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 (Let's just talk about this, so as not to waste the 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. 

"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 further said.