黑料社

A group of public school teachers on Thursday called out the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for its failure to blacklist the suppliers of the overpriced and outdated laptops it bought for the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2021.

In a statement, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) chair Vladimer Quetua said the PS-DBM鈥檚 inaction eroded accountability and was a 鈥渄ereliction of its duty to safeguard public funds from malversation鈥� in contracts amounting to a total of P2.4 billion.

In their 2022 annual audit report published on Wednesday, state auditors said that the PS-DBM had not yet implemented the recommendation of the Commission on Audit (COA) to submit a resolution on the termination of contracts or blacklisting of the suppliers of the controversial laptop procurement deal.

鈥楤ig slap鈥�

The PS-DBM management claimed that it submitted the resolution to the head of the procuring entity, which is DepEd. But upon validation, the COA said the PS-DBM鈥檚 鈥渂lacklisting and termination review committee has not yet conducted blacklisting proceedings over the subject contracts.鈥�

The Inquirer received no comment from officers of the PS-DBM as of this writing.

Quetua said the PS-DBM鈥檚 inaction to hold the suppliers accountable was a 鈥渂ig slap in the face鈥� of teachers.

He alleged that the PS-DBM and its suppliers 鈥渕ade a profit鈥� from the procurement of the laptops that were of no use to teachers holding distance learning classes during quarantine restrictions.

The COA pointed out in its report that the computers delivered to Metro Manila were 鈥渢oo slow because the processor is Intel Celeron, which is outdated, and the price is too high based on the specifications.鈥�

One of the teachers interviewed by the Inquirer said that the laptop given to her was too slow and unusable so she had to borrow what her sibling was using.

She said that the computer鈥檚 camera, needed for online classes, was faulty and it took her 15 minutes just to open several files.

ACT called on the Marcos administration to compel the DBM to act on the issue as its procurement arm 鈥渇ailed to exemplify accountability.鈥�

Charge them already

The group further urged concerned agencies to file charges against the top officials who were involved in the procurement of the overpriced laptops, recover the amount and allot the funds to support the teachers.

Under Republic Act No. 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, DepEd, through the PS-DBM, allocated P2.4 billion to provide for the urgent need of public school teachers for laptops during the pandemic.

According to the COA鈥檚 2021 annual audit report, DepEd鈥檚 purchases were 鈥減ricey for an entry-level type laptop鈥� and there was an 鈥渁dversely decreased number鈥濃�攆rom 68,500 to 39,583 laptops that had originally been budgeted at P35,046.50 each.

The COA said the PS-DBM favored the joint venture of three companies鈥擲unwest Construction and Development Corp., LDLA Marketing and Trading Inc. and VST ECS Philippines Inc.鈥攐ver other bidders despite its failure to meet the required technical specifications.

P979-M 鈥榦verprice鈥�

The controversy led to a five-month Senate investigation, which concluded in January. According to a 195-page Senate blue ribbon committee report, the laptops were overpriced by at least P979 million, with each finally valued at P58,300.

鈥淣ot only were these procurement attended by a substantial number of irregularities, it clearly appears that the government paid a lot more than what it was supposed to,鈥� the report said.

The senators recommended the filing of graft and administrative charges against several DepEd officials, namely, Undersecretary for Finance Analyn Sevilla, former Education Undersecretary Alain del Pascua, former Education Assistant Secretary Salvador Malana III, and information and communications technology director Abram Abanil.

鈥擶ITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH

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