September 4, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — After being grilled last Monday by a House panel on its proposed budget for next year, the Department of Education (DepEd) may now have to brace for an investigation on alleged “rigged bidding” for laptops and other electronic devices when the department was still headed by Vice President Sara Duterte.
The alleged anomaly may have cost taxpayers some P1.6 billion, according to House Assistant Majority Leader Jil Bongalon, vice chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations, who raised the call for an investigation after revealing the alleged irregularity during Monday’s hearing on DepEd’s proposed P793.18-billion budget for 2025.
“There seems to be a conspiracy in the bidding of laptops. Imagine, there was already a bidding, and it’s all favorable to the government. Then suddenly, there was a rebidding where there was a one percent variance. Is this not a big question for the DepEd family?” Bongalon said.
“In other words, the prices of laptops have soared, and it is because of the conspiracy of the people behind this bidding of laptops,” Bongalon, who is part of the so-called “Young Guns” in Congress, said. “In short, that was a rigged bidding.”
“I would also like to manifest that this warrants an in-depth investigation, probably in a proper committee after this budget hearing,” Bongalon told Davao de Oro Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora, who was presiding over the hearing on behalf of committee chairman Rep. Zaldy Co.
The Co panel readily granted the motion of Batangas Ssecond District Rep. Gerville Luistro for the issuance of a subpoena to DepEd officials and members of its Bids and Awards Committee, among others.
Education Undersecretary Gerard Chan explained that during the first bidding, only two were awarded out of the 16 lots raised for bidding. The 14 disqualified bidders were allowed to join the rebidding.
Bongalon said that according to information received by his office, a 24 percent variance was recorded during the first bidding, which was why it was a shock that the variance went down to as low as one percent during the rebidding.
“I raise these concerns because probably there is an irregularity in the procurement of laptops and other electronic devices. And there are personalities involved in this activity, and this is my personal belief, because there are people who definitely had a hand in this,” he said.
Chan succeeded former DepEd Undersecretaries Michael Poa and Gloria Mercado.
Poa joined Duterte in the Office of the Vice President as her spokesman, while Mercado took early retirement.
Bongalon identified another DepEd official during Duterte’s administration who may also have been involved in the procurement anomaly – former assistant secretary Francis Cesar Bringas, who had already resigned.
Chan revealed that during the first bidding, Bringas chaired the Bids and Awards Committee, while Mercado was head of the procuring entity.
Chan added that it was Poa who replaced Mercado during the second bidding.
Angara’s promise
During Monday’s hearing, Education Secretary Sonny Angara vowed to do his best in addressing the department’s perennial problems, including shortage of classrooms and the Philippines’ embarrassing ranking in the Program for International Student Assessment.
“We will make sure that we will coordinate with you. We pledge to be fair in the distribution of classrooms. Please bear with us now because we are just new here. Give us a chance to show that we can deliver on our promises,” Angara told the committee.
“We are committed to making extraordinary efforts to address these concerns. We see the low obligation rates and undelivered resources, and we know this cannot continue. We will change the system,” he told Rep. Adrian Michael Amatong.
The new DepEd chief said his priorities are improving curriculum implementation, learning recovery and assessments while advocating hybrid and computer-based assessments, targeted support for low-achieving learners and promoting inclusive education.
Angara, who took over from Duterte who resigned last July 19, noted that outdated staffing standards delay teachers’ career progress and highlight issues such as high bullying rates, student malnutrition and shortage of 4,486 guidance counselors.
He also identified gaps, such as 159,202 classroom shortage, 2,001 schools without electricity and 18,325 without internet, proposing a school building program and electrification and nationwide internet access by 2029 – with support from private and international partners.
At the hearing, Amatong urged his colleagues to support DepEd’s request for an additional P30 billion for classrooms, underscoring the importance of providing every student with a proper learning environment.
DepEd underspending
Meanwhile, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) has assailed the DepEd’s underspending in the past two years, saying the budget could have been used to address the “deplorable state” of public schools.
The underspending by DepEd under Duterte was revealed during Monday’s House hearing on the department’s budget. It was also revealed during the hearing that only the DepEd’s confidential fund was spent.
“The audit reports reveal that DepEd, under VP Sara’s command, brazenly wasted public funds amid the worsening education crisis. This goes beyond disservice as teachers and learners suffer in a deplorable state, grappling with scarce teaching and learning materials and low salaries, while the agency head exploits public office for personal gain and betrays her very mandate to serve the people. This is an outrageous moral failure,” ACT chairman Vladimer Quetua said.
State auditors found that DepEd spent only P2.75 billion out of the P11-billion allocation for its computerization program, which aimed to equip students and teachers with digital tools, gadgets and equipment such as smart TVs.
DepEd was also called out by the Commission on Audit last year for not using its P3-billion budget in 2022 to buy learning tools and equipment for science, mathematics and technical-vocational livelihood subjects in public schools.
ACT said the education budget should not be slashed just because of Duterte’s poor fiscal leadership, as it urged Angara to properly disburse the funds allocated to the agency.
The group also called on the government to hold Duterte accountable for “her failure and betrayal of duty.”
ACT also reiterated its call to double the education budget, in line with the United Nations standards of at least six percent of GDP. — Neil Jayson Servallos
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