During the House briefing for the P793.18-billion proposed budget of the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday, Sept. 1, a lawmaker questioned the agency about its computerization program implementation.
Batangas representative Gerville Luistro noted the low budget utilization with only 19.22% of the P11 billion allocation disbursed under the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
“Bakit po sa tindi ng pangangailangan natin for ICT packages, Madam Chair, out of P11-billion allocation, bakit po P2.075-billion ang naging disbursement?” Luistro asked.
DepEd’s Information and Communications Technology Service director Ferdinand Pitagan responded that when the new administration came in (2022), the priority was the continuing 2022 appropriations.
“That’s why for 2022 funds, we had the 92 percent obligation. Now ‘yung 2023 Ma’am, tumawid ngayon siya ng 2024,” he added.
Luistro expressed concern over DepEd’s zero-percent accomplishment rates for both current and continuing appropriations meant for eLearning, smart TVs, and laptops.
In line with Luistro’s recommendation, the committee will issue a subpoena to obtain all bidding documents from 2022 to 2024, including the end-users’ acceptance.
Marikina City representative Stella Quimbo also criticized the DepEd’s 180-day delivery timeline of IT equipment, calling it “unacceptable.”
“Director, I’m just telling you and I’m sure all members will agree with me that your timetable is completely unacceptable,” she stated.
Pitagan assured that the 2023 and 2024 procured IT equipment would go directly to schools, while older items from 2020 and 2021 are still in storage.
He also noted that the 44,638 ICT packages equate to 504,000 laptops, which are ordered from abroad and assembled locally.
DepEd secretary Sonny Angara committed to looking into early or decentralized procurement and a feasibility study on increasing the number of suppliers to address the procurement delays.
