In a press conference on Wednesday, Tingog Party List Rep. Jude Acidre and Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said they believed the “envelopes” given to officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) during VP Sara Duterte’s tenure as education chief were bribes.
“Kung merong isa, merong ikalawa, merong iba,” Acidre said. “Everyday is Christmas day ata sa DepEd.” (If there was one, then there must be two, and more. It must be Christmas day every day at DepEd.)
The two solons responded to the disclosure made by DepEd Chief Accountant Rhunna Catalan to the House panel on Tuesday, in which she stated that she received envelopes containing cash, described as an “allowance,” during VP Duterte’s time at DepEd.
Catalan is the fourth education official to make such an admission before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, which is investigating the alleged misuse of funds by Duterte at the Office of the Vice President and DepEd.
Catalan confirmed she had received envelopes from then-DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Charry Fajarda, a trusted aide of the Vice President.
Catalan further revealed that she received the amount from Fajarda monthly over a nine-month period, from February to September 2023. According to Catalan, Fajarda assured her it was simply “an allowance from the Vice President.”
Assistant Secretary Fajarda was also named in previous testimony by former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil Mercado, who disclosed that she received regular cash payments from the Vice President allegedly intended to influence her in her role as the agency’s head of the procuring entity.
During the Sept. 25 hearing, Mercado testified that she received envelopes containing P50,000 each month from February to September 2023, totaling P450,000, allegedly delivered by Assistant Secretary Fajarda on behalf of the Vice President.
On Oct. 17, former DepEd Bids and Awards Committee chair Resty Osias disclosed that he, too, received envelopes containing between P12,000 and P15,000 each.
Osias said that he was summoned to the office of then-Assistant Secretary Fajarda, who also served as Duterte’s Head Executive Assistant, to receive the envelopes.
He alleged he received four envelopes between April and September 2023, believing it was a “practice of the department.”
Former DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa, who later transferred to the OVP, also admitted that he had “occasionally” received envelopes containing cash from both Fajarda and Duterte herself. (With Paula Valero)
