COA wants DepEd to explain P2.4 billion expenditure on costly and “outdated” laptops

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Education (DepEd) for spending P2.4 billion in the procurement of laptops which it found to be too costly for their entry-level specifications. The COA is now asking DepED to explain why it had chosen the bid which clearly put the government agency at a disadvantage, when there were better options in the market.

The laptops have been purchased by DepEd for use by public school teachers in the implementation of distance learning modalities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the COA’s annual audit report for 2021, the laptops were purchased under the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and cost P58,300 apiece, a steep rise from the P35,046 initially approved price. Because the chosen laptops cost more, only 39.583 units were purchased, instead of the initial target of 68.500 units. As a result, the COA noted, more than 28,000 teachers were deprived of the possible benefits from the supposed provision of these laptops.”

The COA further explained that the DepEd laptops are equipped with an outdated Intel Celeron processor and seemed too costly for their entry-level specifications.

Intel Celeron is generally considered low-end because it’s cheap and only good for simple tasks like word processing, emailing, and Web surfing. For comparison, more advanced-spec laptops like the 2021 Macbook Air and the Lenovo IdeaPad 3 11th Gen cost less than the DepEd Celeron laptops.

Netizes couldn’t resist calling out DepEd

#NoToPAREX Two-wheeled terror (@goodkidbikecity on Twitter) posted what appears to be a screenshot of the procurement contract, noting that “However you slice it, it looks TERRIBLE.”

Meanwhile Fact-check PH (@factcheckPH_AE) posted “FACT: DepEd’s “bulk” orders of Intel Celeron laptops are more expensive than “individual” purchase of the 2021 Apple MacBook Air M1 processor with SRP at ₱57,990.00” with a screenshot from the Apple website of the specifications and cost of the 2021 Apple MacBook Air.

MLK (@cededream) hinted that there might have been anomalies in DepEd’s laptop procurement by saying: “Grabe talaga yung 58k pesos each for an entry-level laptop na Intel Celeron ang processor haha galing ng DepEd mangurakot 👏👏👏”

Still another Twitter user, Lucas x (@bashgita) shared screenshots of a Facebook post by a teacher who received on of DepEd’s overpriced Celeron laptops.

Looks like DepEd has some explaining to do.