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NewsTranscript
00:00A former Undersecretary of the Department of Education
00:04was accused of following him for over a month.
00:06He was followed by the Vice President and Education Secretary, Sara Duterte.
00:11The former Undersecretary was also accused of following him
00:14using his name.
00:16Oscar Oida is a witness.
00:19In the month of January from February to September 2023,
00:26while serving as the Head of the Procurement Entity of the Department of Education or DEPED,
00:32the former DEPED Undersecretary, Gloria Jumamil Mercado, was accused of following him for over a month.
00:37The amount was P50,000 per envelope.
00:41The envelope was usually received by Assistant Secretary Sunshine M. Paharda
00:46and it was said that it came from Vice President Sara Duterte.
00:49In the middle of the interrogation, she took out the envelopes.
00:53It was painful. I was just an ordinary worker and I was accused by the Vice President.
01:01According to Mercado, she never opened the envelopes
01:06when she was still serving in DEPED.
01:08When she was about to retire.
01:10I sought some advice and they just advised me to donate it to a non-government organization, which I did.
01:21And that's the only time that I opened these envelopes in front of the people that I was donating it.
01:27And it was P50,000 per envelope.
01:30The reason why you are considering all these concerns is because you believe that the envelope is a bribe.
01:37Do you agree? Yes or no, ma'am?
01:43It's kind of a harsh word to use.
01:48A bribe. Or should I say, it is a means to influence your decision being the HOPE.
02:00It could be.
02:02In her affidavit, Mercado said that in October 2023,
02:06Attorney Reynold Monsayac told her, the former Assistant Secretary of DEPED, for procurement regarding a bidding.
02:13He suggested in the presence of other officials who was with me, that the bidder should just discuss among themselves.
02:23Let's just talk so that the money of 2023 will not be wasted.
02:27I firmly asserted that the procurement must be implemented and conducted in strict adherence with the rules.
02:35Following this, she was called by the Chief of Staff of the Vice President, Zulaika Lopez, and she was fired from her position.
02:44I was informed that I should tender my resignation effective that day.
02:48I refused to resign and I insisted on departing from service through voluntary retirement.
02:54The timing of my meeting with Ms. Zulaika struck me as more than coincidental.
02:59It gave me the impression that my candid responses was the real reason behind the push to leave me of my office.
03:08Will you agree if I would say that your refusal to Attorney Reynold Monsayac to discuss the 2022 continuing fund is the reason why you are resigning, Attorney Zulaika?
03:26That's very speculative ma'am.
03:29From your point of view ma'am, it can be right, it can be wrong, but from your point of view, it could be.
03:37Attorney Monsayac was surprised by the agreement of Mercado.
03:41I have no reason, interest or inclination to issue an illegal order in a public place where there are people whom I don't know.
03:53I said, what is your plan there?
03:55If you will continue the post-qualification and it will expire, it will not reach December 2023.
04:05So you should decide if you will revoke it.
04:07If you will revoke it, the fund will not be wasted and it will be utilized before the end of 2023.
04:14In a press conference earlier, VP Sara Duterte said that Mercado was fired because of the issue of trust and confidence.
04:23She solicited 16 million pesos from a company on paper using my name without any authorization.
04:34The OVP issued a letter signed by Mercado where the name of Vice President Sara Duterte is mentioned.
04:41It includes the breakdown of the usable and total cost of 16 million pesos.
04:47Mercado responded appropriately to the hearing.
04:51So we made a presentation to almost all the corporations.
04:55And then some of the corporations appreciated that it's a very important program.
05:00So some of them committed.
05:01I explained properly.
05:03I did not solicit.
05:04There's no money involved there.
05:06These are equipments.
05:09There is no cash there.
05:10It's equipments that will be turned over to DepEd.
05:15So I feel very sad that up until now, the VP has not been appraised as I explained it to her people.
05:24In her opening statement, Congressman Joel Chua said that he heard accusations and insinuations
05:31in their committee that it is a political exercise or attack on an individual.
05:36Chua said that the committee just wanted to know how the so-called confidential fund of the OVP was spent.
05:44I must stress at this point that the sheer vastness of these potentially misused funds
05:51sets this matter apart from other instances of irregularity and disallowance.
05:57These amounts easily surpass the threshold for the crime of plunder under our laws.
06:04We are waiting for the reaction of Vice President Duterte.
06:08For GMA Integrated News, Oscar Oidang Inyong, Saksi!
06:14Kapuso, sama-sama tayo maging Saksi!
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