A MILITANT lawmaker yesterday slammed Vice President Sara Duterte for leaving a “legacy of unresolved issues” in the Department of Education (DepEd) that gave undue burden to her successor, former senator and now Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara.
During the House Committee on Appropriations hearing on the DepEd’s proposed P793.18 billion budget for 2025, Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) cited the issues raised in the 2023 Commission on Audit (COA) report, particularly on the DepEd’s Computerization Program (DCP).
“Medyo mahalaga sa akin ito (This is important to me), Madam Chair and Mr. Secretary, dahil gusto nating mabigyan ng laptop, mga computer ang ating mga teachers (because we want to give our teachers computers),” Castro noted, citing the COA’s findings on delays, non-delivery, and inefficiencies within the program, particularly the mishandling of DCP packages.
The Commission on Audit has flagged the DepEd for low fund utilization in several projects that hampered its objective to upgrade education in the public school system.
Among these projects were the P5.1 billion Learning Tools and Equipment for Science and Math Equipment (SME) and Technical Vocational Livelihood (TVL) Equipment; the P20.547 billion DepEd Computerization Program (DCP); and the P1.408 billion Last Mile Schools Program (LMSP).
“In fairness naman kay Sec. Angara, teacher pa lang ako talagang malalim na ang pinagsamahan ng ACT Teachers at ni Secretary Angara. Si Sec. Angara, very accommodating, ang mga bills sa salary ng mga teachers ay talagang sinusuportahan niya.
Ngayong Secretary na siya, mukhang mas maganda ito kesa noong nakaraan (In fairness to Sec. Angara, when I was still a teacher, ACT Teachers and Sec. Angara had a deep working relationship. Sec. Angara is very accommodating, he supported the bills on the increase of teachers’ salaries. Now that he’s a secretary, it seems better that the previous one),” Castro said.
However, Castro lamented that Angara is facing a mountain of challenges inherited from the previous administration and his predecessor, Duterte, who resigned as education secretary after she decided to break away from her alliance with President Marcos Jr.
“Kaya lang, Mr. Chair, nakakalungkot po. Medyo iniwanan siya ng maraming problema ni Vice President Sara Duterte (However, Mr. Chair, it’s lamentable. Vice President Sara Duterte left with a lot of problems),” she said.
Castro pointed out that the “Matatag curriculum” under Duterte has placed significant strain on high school teachers, who are now handling seven to eight teaching loads per day with each class lasting 45 minutes.
She called for an immediate review of the curriculum, saying that its implementation was rushed and problematic, prompting Angara to say that a draft department order is already in the works because “we’re listening to the grievances of our teachers.”
Moreover, Castro expressed concerns about unpaid remittances totaling over P5 billion to various entities, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and Pag-IBIG Fund.
According to the 2023 COA report, unremitted taxes amounted to P1.3 billion owed to the BIR, P3.1 billion to the GSIS, P503 million to PhilHealth, and P182 million to Pag-IBIG.
Castro emphasized the impact on teachers and non-teaching personnel, particularly the delayed remittances to the GSIS, which could result in interest charges and surcharges against their accounts.
Angara and other DepEd officials assured that the COA observations, particularly regarding unremitted taxes and premiums, are being addressed through an ongoing reconciliation process.
LAPTOPS
Lawmakers said the failure of DepEd under Duterte to deliver almost P9 billion worth of laptops and other e-learning equipment in 2023 was unacceptable.
DepEd’s director for information and communications technology service (ICTS), Ferdinand Pitagan, confirmed the COA report which observed that for that year, DepEd 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 P2 billion?)” Luistro asked, noting the low 19.22 percent utilization rate for the Department’s ICT packages.
Pitagan explained that the 2023 DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) budget was barely spent for the year because DepEd was focusing on the previous year’s (2022) funds, adding the department was playing catch-up to the crucial deliveries.
“It’s hard for me to appreciate the explanation that your priority is continuing, which is the budget from 2022,” Luistro said. “Why, therefore, did you request 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?”
Luistro said the current student-to-computer ratio of 1:9 and teacher-to-computer ratio of 1:30 “is almost saying impossible to facilitate an e-learning system having one computer for 30 teachers.”
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 76 in Reading and Mathematics, and 79 in Science.
PISA is the Programme for International Student Assessment. Luistro said that the Philippine education standard has remained low over the past five years.
CONSPIRACY?
Rep. Jil Bongalon (PL, Ako Bicol) said there appears to be a “conspiracy” behind the bidding of laptops and other related equipment for public schools under Duterte.
The burden of answering the lawmaker fell on Undersecretary for Procurement Gerard Chan, who has taken over from former Undersecretaries Michael Poa and Gloria Mercado.
Poa has joined Duterte in the Office of the Vice President as her spokesperson, while Mercado has availed herself of early retirement while another DedEd official, former Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas, has already resigned.
Bongalon questioned why there was a rebidding for the equipment and the same bidders participated in it, albeit, offering higher prices.
“May conspiracy na nangyari dito sa procurement na ito. Nagkaroon ng first bidding at rebidding, pero the same bidders ang participants. Ang mga sangkot sa conspiracy ay ‘yung nakaupo sa BAC (bidding and awards committee) and the procurement officials supervising them (There was a conspiracy in this procurement. There was a first bidding and rebidding but with the same bidders and participants. The ones involved in this conspiracy are the BAC and procurement officials supervising them),” the lawmaker said.
It took time for the DepEd official to mention the names of Mercado, Bringas, and Poa as the ones who were handling procurements before he took over.
This prompted Bongalon to say: “In government, people come and go and usually, kilala natin o alam natin yung mga pumapalit, pero ‘di po niya masagot directly (we know who the successors are but he could not answer directly).”
Bobgalon promised to seek a congressional investigation into the alleged “irregularity,” saying those responsible should be held accountable.
He said that based on the bids submitted during the first bidding, there was a (price) variance of 24 percent, meaning the government stood to save at least P1.6 billion.
Bongalon stressed that DepEd could have procured additional laptops with the P1.6 billion it would have saved had the first bidding pushed through.
“Dun sa (in the) second bidding participated in by the same bidders, naging one percent na lang ang variance (the variance went down to one percent). Ibig sabihin, tumaas ang presyo (This means, the price went up). Para sa akin (To my mind), this was a rigged bidding,” he said.
Chan explained that the first bidding failed because the bidders submitted incomplete documents. As for the price variants, Chan said the bidding participants “maybe corrected their documents and prices might have changed.”
