DepEd spox says laptops ‘could be replaced’ if proven slow, Briones denies direct involvement on PS-DBM procurement

Department of Education Spokesperson Michael Poa in a press conference said that DepEd will evaluate the claim and considers “quick fixes” to the procured laptops of Department of Budget and Management – Procurement Service (PS-DBM) worth Php 2.4B which could still be used as the next academic year resumes on August 22nd.

“We are trying to remedy the situation because the teachers will use the laptops given to them last year for this coming school year,” Poa noted. “[But] if the laptops are confirmed to be really slow and not up to par with what we wanted, then, as far as I understand, they are still covered with warranty and could be replaced,” he added.

The said Celeron-laptops may get a proper replacement if the claim is proven, that those given to teachers were indeed slow machines.

“If need be, invoking the warranty provision will be done in coordination with PS-DBM, as they are the procuring entity,” Poa explained. However, he clarified that there is no directive yet for the laptops’ replacement as it is still pending evaluation.

DepEd Spokesperson Michael Poa

Former Education Secretary Leonor Briones has also given statement about the controversy. “The entirety of the procurement was conducted by the PS-DBM. It was the PS-DBM that directly had full control over the procurement, including pricing and item specifications,” Briones said in a statement sent to reporters.

Briones denied direct involvement with the procurement of the laptops. According to her, she was only a signatory in the MOA (memorandum of agreement) between the PS-DBM and the DepEd. “The DepEd had no hand in the canvassing, bidding and actual procurement whatsoever,” she explained.

Former Education Secretary Leonor Briones

Makabayan party-list Representatives France Castro of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, and Raoul Manuel of Kabataan on Monday have sought congressional investigation regarding the DepEd – PS-DBM laptop deal through House Resolution No. 189.

“According to the [Commission on Audit] in its annual audit report, instead of utilizing its own Bidding and Awards Committee (BAC), the DepEd coursed the procurement through the Department of Budget and Management – Procurement Service (DBM-PS),” the lawmakers cited.

“The COA stated that the technical specifications ‘required by the DepEd did not intend to procure a laptop computer equipped with an Intel Core Celeron [sic], the most low-end type of Intel processor in the market.”

“Now therefore, be it resolved, that the House of Representatives, through the Committee on Good Governance, investigate, in aid of legislation, the procurement of overpriced outdated laptops for teachers by the Department of Education through the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (DBM-PS),” the lawmakers added.

DepEd, however, had reprimanded Makabayan bloc’s statement, “DepEd believes that it is not right to declare that the contract was anomalous without a final report by COA, much less [without the] findings from the Ombudsman.”

The department welcomes the congressional probe, “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 COA.”

They urged ACT-Teachers Rep. France Castro to be “prudent in her pronouncements on this matter,” marking its disapproval from Castro’s statement that teachers were getting shortchanged (“binabarat”). “DepEd has always been proactive in promoting teachers’ welfare over the years,” the department said.

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ALSO READ: DepEd spent ~Php 60K each for thousands of Celeron-powered laptops in 2021 –COA report