The Department of Education (DepEd) stated on Friday that it was open to any congressional investigation into the acquisition of laptop computers that state auditors had labeled “outdated” and “expensive.”
“The Department of Education welcomes inquiries to be made by Congress regarding the laptops procured by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for public school teachers at the height of the pandemic,” said DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa in a statement.
The Department of Education (DepEd) stated on Friday that it was open to any congressional investigation into the acquisition of laptop computers that state auditors had labeled “outdated” and “expensive.”
“The Department of Education welcomes inquiries to be made by Congress regarding the laptops procured by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for public school teachers at the height of the pandemic,” said DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa in a statement.
The COA called the computers as “expensive” at P58,3000 per device in its 2021 evaluation, despite the education agency’s initial estimate of roughly P35,000.
The laptops were supposed to help public school instructors with distance learning, but rising prices resulted in fewer recipients, from 68,500 to 39,583.
The COA also discovered that the laptops were “too slow because the processor is Intel Celeron, which is outdated.”
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Koko Pimentel III submitted a resolution on Thursday requesting a blue ribbon committee probe into the situation.
Senator Risa Hontiveros has announced she will introduce a similar resolution soon.
The education department stated that it will comply with any congressional investigation.
“DepEd believes that this matter needs to be resolved immediately, and we submit to the process as we commit to transparency and accountability — even if the issue only involves an Audit Observation Memorandum, which requires the submission of documents to the Commission of Audit (COA),” Poa stated
