President Duterte continues to trust Education Secretary Leonor Briones and considers her an ally in the fight against corruption, according to a Palace official.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque highlighted the President's confidence in Briones in the wake of the education department’s controversial purchase of service vehicles amid the pandemic.
"Ultimately, it’s a matter of trusting the head of office," Roque said during a televised press briefing Tuesday.
"The President trusts, and the entire Filipino nation trusts Professor Emeritus Leonor Briones. Number one kasangga po natin siya laban po sa korapsyon. Patuloy po ang ating pagtitiwala kay Professor Briones (She's our number one partner in the fight against corruption. We continue to trust her)," he said.
The Department of Education (DepEd) recently bought a fleet of service vehicles that will supposedly be used by field engineers to visit school buildings especially in far-flung areas.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), however, questioned DepEd's acquisition of over 100 Mitsubishi Strada pickup trucks while it is struggling to address the needs and concerns related to distance learning. The vehicle purchase was an “insensible use of education money” as teachers pay for the costs of online learning, including internet service, according to the teachers' group.
Roque defended that the DepEd's vehicle purchase was planned even before the coronavirus pandemic. He said the education department needed the vehicles to deliver modules to students and teachers under the distance learning method.
"Unang-una, 2019 budget iyan, iyong kanilang need was assessed as early as 2016. At ngayon po, kailangang-kailangan po talaga ng DepEd iyan dahil nga po kinakailangan i-deliver ang mga modules sa mga malalayong lugar all over the Philippines (First of all, it's part of the 2019 budget and the need was assessed as early as 2016. And now, DepEd really needs them to deliver modules to far-flung areas all over the Philippines)," he said.
On the selection of Mitsubishi to supply the vehicles, Roque explained that the motor company won in the bidding process.
"Talaga naman po lahat ng government procurement dumadaan po iyan sa public bidding, at iyan po iyong pinakamababang responsive bid na nakuha ng DepEd (All government procurement goes through public bidding and it is the lowest responsive bid that the DepEd got)," he said.