CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Educators belonging to a Mindanao-based group have denounced the alleged illegal sale of Department of Education-procured laptops for public schools in retail stores and on Facebook. Apart from violating the public trust, the Media Educators of Mindanao (MEM) also stressed that the said illegal act also deprives the basic education teachers of their “right to government support.” "It is crucial to hold accountable those who have violated the rights of the teachers and to ensure that such incidents will not happen again," MEM said in a statement released on Friday, May 12. The group at the same time urged the involved parties to “take responsibility for this incident” by conducting a thorough investigation. Online reports had it that laptops procured by DepEd for public schools ended up being sold in retail stores and on Facebook Marketplace. In February this year, DepEd confirmed that some laptops were being sold in a surplus store in Cebu. The said laptops were part of the DepEd Computerization Program and were not procured by the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management. On Tuesday, May 9, Makabayan bloc lawmakers filed a resolution calling for an investigation in aid of legislation on the illegal sale of DepEd-procured laptops. Despite the concerns and tensions caused by the said incident, the media educators still believed that “accountability and peace can coexist,” urging the involved parties to engage in a peaceful and constructive dialogue in resolving the issue. The call to protect the rights of the educators was also raised by the group, stressing that their welfare has a great impact on the students.