“I was summoned by Zuleika Lopez, the Chief of Staff of Vice President Duterte and Undersecretary at the Office of the Vice President. I was informed that I should tender my resignation effective that day. I refused to resign and insisted on departing from the service through voluntary retirement,” she said.
Just weeks before this, Mercado said another former DepEd official, lawyer Reynold Munsayac, approached her regarding the DepEd Computerization Program, which she said was on its way to a bidding failure.
“He suggested, in the presence of three other DepEd officials who I was with that the bidders should discuss among themselves. ‘[Mag-usap usap na lang, para hindi masayang ang 2022 budget,’ according to Atty. Munsayac. I firmly asserted that the procurement must be implemented and conducted in strict adherence with the rules,” she said.
“The timing of my meeting with Ms. Zuleika struck me as more than coincidental, it gave me the impression that my candid response to Atty. Munsayac’s suggestion was the real reason behind the push to relieve me of my office. It was as if I had become an unwelcome obstacle in the procurement process, despite simply doing my job as the HoPE and undersecretary for Human Resources of DepEd,” she said.
