MANILA, Philippines — Department of Education (DepEd) officials have disclosed receiving cash envelopes during Vice President Sara Duterte's tenure as education secretary in 2023.

At a House good governance panel hearing on October 17, former DepEd Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairperson Resty Osias bared that he received envelopes containing P12,000 to P15,000 each.

“I think it was something like between 12 to 15 (thousand pesos), Sir. Hindi ko na ho matandaan ‘yung laman talaga. (I can’t really recall the amount) Very minimal amount, Sir,” Osias said.

This corroborates the earlier testimony of former DepEd Undersecretary Gloria Mercado, who on September 25 informed lawmakers she received nine envelopes containing P50,000 each from February to September 2023.

He was summoned to the office of former DepEd Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda, who also served as Duterte's head executive assistant, to receive the envelopes.

Four envelopes. Osias alleged he received four envelopes between April and September 2023, believing it was a "practice of the department."

“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,” Osias said.

“It started [in] April, I think it was until September of that year. If I recall it right, I was only summoned about four times to the office,” he added.  

He noted, however, that it was not likely because he was a BAC member since he was only appointed as the committee’s chairman in November 2023.

During the time he had received the cash envelopes, Osias was Director IV of the Bureau of Human Resources and Organizational Development. He was appointed to this position in January 2023.  

Osias also corroborated Mercado's testimony on the meeting they had with Former Procurement Assistant Secretary Reynold Munsayac in October 2023.

He also remembers Munsayac suggesting that bidders for the Computerization Program should discuss amongst each other to ensure that the 2022 budget for it would be utilized and not lapse by the end of 2023.

Former DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa, now the OVP's spokesperson, also admitted to "occasionally" receiving cash envelopes from Duterte herself, including one instance in December 2022.

Refusal to respond. Rep. Rolando Valeriano (Manila, 2nd District) suggested that DepEd's confidential funds may have been used to fund these alleged cash incentives, noting that both Osias and Mercado only received envelopes until September 2023 – coinciding with the time the agency no longer requested confidential funds.

Duterte and her staff at the Office of the Vice President, meanwhile, has refused to answer questions about the cash envelopes, stating she will wait for the next hearing before discussing the matter.

The OVP officials, however, have chosen not to attend the committee's hearingsred gaming, leading lawmakers to issue subpoenas for their attendance at the next hearing.

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