Vice President Sara Duterte (Noel Pabalate/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Some P9 billion worth of laptops that were supposed to boost the Department of Education's (DepEd) e-learning program weren't delivered in 2023 or during the last full year of Vice President Sara Duterte's time at the agency. 

This was learned on Monday, Sept. 2 during the budget deliberations of DepEd by the House Committee on Appropriations. 

In her interpellation, Batangas 2nd district Rep. Gerville "Jinky Bitrics" Luistro asked about the 19.22 percent utilization rate for the department’s Information and Communications Technology Service (ICT) packages. 

Low utilization rates are an eyesore for House members like Luistro since it suggests that the public funds that the solon allocated during the budget process weren't maximized or used to the fullest. 

Ferdinand Pitagan, the department’s director for Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS), confirmed the Commission on Audit (COA) 2023 report, which observed that DepEd for that year only spent over P2.18 billion of its P11.36 billion budget for computers, laptops, smart television sets, and other e-learning equipment. 

“Now, we have this P11-billion budget. You requested this for 2023. Bakit ang disbursement niyo ay P2 billion lang? (Why is your disbursement only at P2 billion?)” Luistro asked. 

Pitagan explained that the 2023 DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) budget was barely spent for the year because DepEd was "prioritizing" the previous year’s (2022) funds. He said the department is playing catch-up to these crucial deliveries. 

“It's hard for me to appreciate the explanation that your priority is continuing, which is the budget from 2022,” said Luistro, a member of the House majority. 

Vice President Duterte served as DepEd secretary for two years. Sonny Angara took over the Cabinet post only last July 19. 

“Why, therefore, did you request for P11 billion for 2023 if you're going to say now that your priority is 2022, that's why you didn't use the 2023? You know, Mr. Resource Speaker, doon po sa amin sa  Batangas, hindi po magkamayaw ang humihingi ng tulong na students, teachers, and even PTA officers lahat ang problema nila ay computers, laptops,” Luistro told Pitagan. 

(In my home province of Batangas, there are a lot of students, teachers, and even PTA officers who are in need, and their common problem are laptops, computers.) 

The latter, responding to a query, said the current student to computer ratio of 1 is to 9, and a teacher to computer ratio of 1 is to 30. 

“That is almost saying impossible to facilitate an e-learning system having one computer for 30 teachers,” said Luistro, who blamed these delivery delays for the dismal performance of the Philippines in the global learning test the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). 

She noted that in 2018, out of 79 countries, the country ranked last in reading and second to the last in science and mathematics. In 2023, out of 81 countries, the Philippines ranked 76th in reading and mathematics, and 79th in Science. 

Luistro said that the Philippine education standard has remained low over the past five years. 

The congresswoman from Batangas also noted that ICT technologies change quickly and the computers brought several years ago may become obsolete soon. 

Based the 2023 COA report, the DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) is designed to upgrade the ICT competencies of students and teachers. State auditors reported a dismal budget utilization rate of 50.07 percent with zero accomplishment for fiscal year 2023, further underscoring the department’s operational failures for that year.