Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun (left), Vice President Sara Duterte (Facebook, MANILA BULLETIN)

Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun has challenged Vice President Sara Duterte to take a lie detector test alongside retired Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado to help find out who between the two of them is telling the truth. 

“Kung talagang sa puso ni VP Duterte eh feeling niya nagsasabi siya ng totoo, mag-lie detector test na lang silang dalawa," Khonghun, a House assistant majority leader, said in a statement Thursday, Sept. 26. 

(If it's in VP Duterte's heart and she believes she's telling the truth, then they should both take the lie detector test.) 

"Hindi na kailangan pang mag-deny at manira sa presscon (No need for denials or a presscon to attack people)," Khonghun said. 

On Wednesday, Mercado, DepEd's former Head of Procuring Entity (HoPE), appeared before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and revealed that she received a total nine envelopes containing P50,000 each, allegedly from then-secretary Duterte--between February and September 2023. 

The committee hearing was still ongoing when Vice President Duterte held a press conference to deny ever giving Mercado the cash-filled envelopes. 

She also described Mercado as a "disgruntled former employee" who illegally solicited P16 million from private firms in behalf of DepEd. Mercado has also denied this. 

Khonghun underscored that Mercado testified under oath before the good government committee, while Vice President Duterte--during her brief appearance at the panel last week--refused to take an oath. 

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"Kung wala namang tinatago si VP Duterte, walang issue sa pag-take ng lie detector test," said Khonghun, a "Young Guns" bloc member, 

(If VP Duterte isn't hiding anything, then she shouldn't have an issue with taking the lie detector test.) 

The House committee is currently investigating the alleged misuse of confidential funds and the procurement process at DepEd during the tenure of Vice President Duterte as DepEd Secretary.