Senators have called for an investigation on the procurement of outdated and overpriced laptops as they slammed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for allowing such a thing to happen.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, Aug. 12 called the Procurement Service-DBM's (PS-DBM) controversial move "a great disservice to teachers," which "ended up depriving teachers of much-needed equipment for teaching" amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
This came after the Commission on Audit (COA), in its 2021 report on the Department of Education (DepEd), flagged the purchase of teachers' laptops worth P2.4 billion through PS-DBM.
State auditors noted that PS-DBM approved a budget of P58,300 per laptop, although DepEd only requested P35,046.50 each. In the end, the purchased laptops did not even match their price as their operating systems were even outdated.
"Ang ating mga guro ang lubhang naaapektuhan dahil hindi tiniyak ng PS-DBM ang tamang presyo at kalidad ng mga laptop... Nakakabahalang hindi nagamit nang tama ang pera ng taong-bayan (Our teachers were greatly affected because PS-DBM did not ensure the right price and quality of laptops. It's alarming that the people's money are not used properly)," said Gatchalian, who also called for the abolition of the same department last year for accepting funds from agencies that weren't using their budgets.
In light of the issue, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano urged the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to investigate the matter.
He also wanted senators to probe why there was a nine-month delay in the procurement of laptops "given the urgency" at the height of challenges brought by the pandemic.
Cayetano filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 134 as he said there is a need to ensure the integrity of the government's procurement service.
"There is a pressing need to ensure that the hard-earned money of taxpayers are put to good use, especially during this time of pandemic, and that the goals of the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act are achieved," he said in his resolution.
On Thursday, Senator Koko Pimentel filed a resolution, SR 120, also seeking an inquiry into the issue.