MANILA, Philippines 鈥� A lawmaker has dared Vice President Sara Duterte to take a lie detector test so that the public would know who between her and former Education Undersecretary Gloria Mercado was lying.
Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, in a statement on Thursday, said that if Duterte is telling the truth, then a lie detector test can settle who between her and Mercado is being honest about the P50,000 hush money that the former Department of Education (DepEd) official allegedly received.
鈥淜ung talagang sa puso ni VP Duterte eh feeling niya nagsasabi siya ng totoo, mag-lie detector test na lang silang dalawa ni USec Mercado, para magkaalaman kung sino nagsasabi ng totoo. Hindi na kailangan pang magdeny at manira sa presscon,鈥� Khonghun said.
(If VP Duterte feels she is telling the truth, she and USec. Mercado should go through a lie detector test so that we would know who is telling the truth.聽You聽don鈥檛 need to deny and throw accusations at press conferences.)
鈥淜ung wala namang tinatago si VP Duterte, walang issue sa pag-take ng lie detector test. Mahalaga na malaman ng taumbayan kung sino ang nagsasabi ng totoo sa kanilang dalawa. Pondo ng bayan ang pinag-uusapan, and the vice president owes it to the people to prove her honesty and integrity,鈥� he added.
(If VP Duterte is not hiding anything, there should be no issue with taking a lie detector test.聽 The public needs to know who between those two of them is lying.聽 We are talking about public funds here, and the vice president owes it to the people to prove her honesty and integrity.)
Khonghun鈥檚 statements came after Mercado on Wednesday testified before the House of Representatives committee on good government and public accountability regarding Duterte鈥檚 chief-of-staff at the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez, supposedly asking her to resign from her post.
Mercado believes it was related to her concerns regarding the procurement of the agency鈥檚 computerization program.聽 According to Mercado, the request for her to resign came after she opposed suggestions from former Education assistant secretary Reynold Munsayac that bidders in the computerization program should 鈥渄iscuss among themselves鈥� the fate of the bidding.
READ: Ex-DepEd exec: VP Duterte鈥檚 staff asked me to resign over purchase issue
Aside from this, Mercado said that envelopes containing money 鈥� which she said came directly from Duterte herself, according to Assistant Secretary Sunshine Fajarda 鈥� may have been meant to influence her as she used to head the DepEd鈥檚 procuring division.
Duterte used to head DepEd until she stepped down from the post last June 2024.
But the vice president dismissed Mercado鈥檚 accusations, noting that the latter was a mere 鈥渄isgruntled鈥� former official who was 鈥渓et go鈥� from DepEd after soliciting P16 million from a private company.
Khonghun also echoed the sentiments of committee chairperson and Manila 3rd District Rep. Joel Chua that the statements made by Mercado were made under oath while Duterte鈥檚 remarks were made in a press conference.
鈥淭he testimony of USec Mercado, she made [them] under oath.聽 VP Duterte refused to take the oath.聽 That鈥檚 why you cannot prevent lawmakers from questioning VP Duterte鈥檚 commitment to transparency.聽 So it would be better if they would go through a lie detector test,鈥� Khonghun said.
鈥淭he people should know who is telling the truth.聽 The vice president should come clean, and she can only do that if she passes a lie detector test,鈥� he added.
On Wednesday, after the committee鈥檚 second hearing on fund utilization issues hounding the OVP, Chua said it would have been good for Duterte to face the panel and answer the questions under oath.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 (Duterte鈥檚 presence) so important because if she could have answered it immediately, under oath, there should be some weight.聽 Because statements in a press conference were not made under oath, so you can say anything you want.聽 Unlike here, the accusations of Usec. Mercado 鈥� and the replies against her (Duterte鈥檚) claims 鈥� were made under oath,鈥� Chua said.
At the first good government panel hearing last September 18, Duterte refused to take an oath to tell the truth, noting that this is only required for witnesses and not resource persons.聽 Despite Chua saying that these are interchangeable terms, Duterte maintained that she is a resource person.
Reporters covering the OVP have asked Duterte and her staffers for their reaction toward Khonghun鈥檚 challenge, but they have yet to reply as of posting time.