VP Sara to solons: Stop using witnesses with no credibility

Vice President Sara Duterte. Photo from House of Representatives of the Philippines’ Facebook page. August 28, 2024

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday called on lawmakers in the House of Representatives to stop using resource speakers who have “no credibility” and “questionable goals” against her.

Duterte made the pronouncement after Former DepEd Undersecretary  Gloria Jumamil Mercado appeared in a House inquiry and claimed that she was asked to resign by Duterte’s chief-of-staff after she raised several concerns regarding the procurement for the Department of Education’s (DepEd) computerization program.

“Sa pagpapatuloy ng mga tangka na sirain ang pagkatao ko, nais ko sanang himukin ang ating mga mambabatas na itigil ang paggamit ng mga testigo na walang kredibilidad o di kaya ay kwestyonable ang layunin,” Duterte said in a statement.

(As the attempts to defame me continue, I would like to urge our legislators to stop using witnesses who lack credibility or may be of questionable intent.)

According to Duterte, Mercado is now being used as a part of a “political machinery” against her.

“Nais ng Kongreso na paniwalaan ng mga Pilipino si Mercado at kalimutan na umamin itong masama ang kanyang loob nang mawala sa pwesto,” she said.

(Congress wants Filipinos to believe Mercado and forget that she admitted she was offended after losing her post.)

In a press conference on Wednesday, Duterte tagged Mercado as a “disgruntled” former employee of the Department of Education (DepEd), who was “let go” after soliciting P16 million from a private company under her name.

READ: VP Duterte: Mercado disgruntled ex-employee who solicited P16M

Mercado, according to Duterte, also took a teacher from Region 7 and assigned them to the central office as her own personal executive assistant despite being the DepEd undersecretary for Human Resources and Organizational Development.

In the statement, Duterte explained that Mercado also tried to deliberately delay the appointment of an executive director of the Teacher Education Council.

“Maliban sa hinaharap na kaso ng korapsyon, kilala din si Mercado sa kanyang ugaling paninira sa mga kasamahan sa trabaho, kabilang na ng kapwa matataas na opisyal ng DepEd,” said Duterte.

(Apart from a corruption case, Mercado is also known for her behavior of slandering her colleagues, including fellow DepEd senior officials.)

“Sa akin mismo ay sinubukan ni Mercado na siraan ang tatlong opisyal ng DepEd. Ganunpaman, sana ay pag-isipan ng Kongreso na ang walang pakundangang pagtatampok ng mga testigo laban sa akin ay madaring sumira sa buhay at kinabukasan ng mga pangkaraniwang empleyado sa DepEd at kanilang mga pamilya,” she added.

(Mercado personally tried to defame three DepEd officials. However, I hope that Congress will consider that the brazen presentation of witnesses against me has the potential to destroy the lives and futures of ordinary DepEd employees and their families.)

Meanwhile, Mercado during a House panel inquiry on the Office of the Vice President’s use of budget denied Vice President Sara Duterte’s allegations that she was let go from the Department of Education (DepEd) for soliciting money from private companies, stating that there was no money involved in that issue and that the issue raised by Duterte was actually an official government program.

READ: Ex-Usec Mercado: No money solicited in official DepEd program

Mercado even said that the two companies who she was allegedly soliciting money from have already expressed willingness to issue an affidavit proving that she did not ask for any funds.