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MANILA, Philippines — Another official of the Department of Education (DepEd) has admitted that envelopes containing money, allegedly from then Education secretary and incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte, also reached his office.
During the hearing of the House of Representatives’ committee on good government and public accountability, former DepEd Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) head, Director Resty Osias, said this after being asked by Manila 2nd District Rep. Rolando Valeriano about this issue.
Valeriano was referring to the issue raised by former Education Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado during the September 25 hearing, that envelopes containing money supposedly from Duterte were given to her by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, which she believes was intended to influence her decision. Mercado was previously head of DepEd’s procurement division.
“And you play an important role, because you were part of the BAC before, right? That oversees the DCP (digitization and computerization program), the computerization. It’s a flagship program of the DepEd, is that correct?” Valeriano asked, which Osias confirmed. “Just another question, did you also receive envelopes from Ms. Shine Fajarda, just like what Usec. Mercado said, envelopes containing cash?”
“All right, your Honor, Mr. Chair, I must be candid about this. I must say I did, but I didn’t know because I was new in the department. I thought it was a practice of the department, I thought, you know, the very first time I encountered that matter, sir, was sometime in April of 2023,” Osias replied.
“I didn’t know why I was summoned to the Office of Asec. Shine, and then I was given an envelope. And it was later on I found out that there was money in it, but it was not because I was a BAC member or whatever, because I was not at that time,” Osias added.
READ: Alleged ‘envelopes’ from Duterte may have aimed to influence ex-DepEd Usec
Valeriano then asked Osias as to how many envelopes he got, because Mercado said that she got nine envelopes worth P50,000 each. In his case, Osias said that he was summoned to Fajarda’s office four times, and that the envelopes contained just minimal amount — P12,000 to P15,000
“At that last hearing, Usec. Mercado said as I remember there were nine envelopes amounting to P50,000 each. As far as you remember, up to when did you receive envelopes?” Valeriano asked.
“It started April (2023), I think it was until September of that year […] but if I recall it right, I was only summoned about four times to the office,” Osias said.
“Four times? Up to September 2023? So in the last quarter po, you did not receive anything?” Valeriano asked again.
“Wala na po. […] I think it was something like between P12,000 to P15,000, a very minimal amount,” Osias replied.
Mercado, during Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro’s interpellation in the September 25 said that she felt the money was meant for her to act in favor of the past DepEd administration.
Luistro’s questions were prompted by Mercado’s claims in her sworn affidavit that there were envelopes handed to her by Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda. Mercado said in her testimony that Fajarda claimed it came directly from Duterte.
Mercado testified that she was designated in February 2023 as head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE) of DepEd, signing checks related to funds, which at one point, amounted to P37.5 million.
However, since her designation as HOPE, Mercado said that envelopes were handed to her by Assistant Secretary Fajarda.
“Between February of 2023 to September 2023, I received a total of nine envelopes labeled HOPE, my current position at DepEd during that time. These envelopes were handed to me mostly by Assistant Secretary Sunshine M. Fajarda, which she says came directly from Vice President Duterte,” Mercado said.
“What she would typically say, as she hands the envelope, it would appear that I received this envelope by virtue of my office as HOPE. Atty. Fajarda is the wife of Edward Fajarda, who is the Special Disbursement Office,” she added.
However, Mercado said Duterte’s chief-of-staff, Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), asked her to resign from office after she raised several concerns regarding the procurement for the agency’s computerization program.
READ: Ex-DepEd exec: VP Duterte’s staff asked me to resign over purchase issue
This request from Lopez supposedly was borne out of her opposition to former Education Assistant Secretary Reynold Munsayac’s suggestion that bidders in the computerization program should just “discuss among themselves” the fate of the bidding.
Furthermore, Mercado said other DepEd officials were asked to resign too.
READ: Ex-Usec Mercado: No money solicited in official DepEd program
Mercado has not clarified why Munsayac asked bidders to discuss the bidding process among themselves, but the computerization program was a topic raised by lawmakers during DepEd’s proposed 2025 budget deliberations at the House committee on appropriations.
Duterte however said that Mercado is merely a “disgruntled” former DepEd official, who was “let go” after soliciting P16 million from a private company. Mercado however clarified that there was no money involved in that issue — adding that the issue raised by Duterte was actually an official government program — a system that would have allowed Duterte to contact teachers wherever she may be.