Windows26: Weekend Roundup: Alice Guo agitated at House hearing, new allegations against Sara Duterte, and more

Hi there, reader!

This week, we covered Alice Guo losing her cool at the House hearing, a former DepEd undersecretary alleging that VP Duterte influenced bidding decisions, and the viral "guess the bill" video.

This is your Weekend Roundup, your weekly fix for everything you need to catch up.

NEW ALLEGATIONS VS VP

'P50K monthly'

A former undersecretary and head of the Department of Education's (DepEd) procurement unit on Wednesday claimed she was given P50,000 monthly from Vice President Sara Duterte supposedly "to influence" her decisions on the agency's biddings.

Gloria Mercado, former DepEd undersecretary for human resources and organizational development and Head of Procuring Entity (HoPE), told a House committee that she "received a total of nine envelopes labeled 'HoPE.'" and "50K."

Mercado claimed that Duterte's chief-of-staff asked her to resign after she raised several concerns regarding the procurement for a computerization program. She also said she felt she was being asked to resign after maintaining that procurement must go on.

Duterte quickly defended herself, claiming that Mercado is a "disgruntled" former DepEd undersecretary who lost her trust and was "let go" after soliciting P16 million from a private company.

VOTE PH 2025

Marcos admin's slate

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced his endorsement of 12 senatorial candidates for the 2025 elections, including reelectionists, Cabinet members, and former senators from various political parties. Read more about the slate here.

INQFOCUS

Punishing the poor

The killings in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s war on drugs may not be as massive as Rodrigo Duterte's, but like in the first few years of the previous administration, the poor are still the most targeted. In this in-depth story by Kurt dela Peña, learn more about how the drug war continues to disproportionately impact the underprivileged.

INQFOCUS

Naia cargo operations

As the much-anticipated rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is underway — with a goal to improve capacity, efficiency, and passenger experience — an equally critical issue emerges and remains unresolved: cargo handling. Read more about it in this special report by Cristina Eloisa Baclig.

ON MY RADAR

Must-reads