The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) was reported to have been purchasing laptops and tablets for the past year and a half even though they don’t seem to have a clear plan for distributing the said devices.
These devices include:
- 866 laptops
- 12,482 tablets
All of which is equal to PHP 92.968 million and are currently collecting dust for the past 4 to 17 months according to the state auditors’ report.
After this discovery, the Commission on Audit (COA) said last 2021 that these devices, if not distributed as soon as possible, will become outdated.
These purchased gadgets (2020 and 2021) were intended for the Cybersafe Learning for Education (CLE) program started by San Juan and Makati City and are worth PHP 550 million.
Under the program, 10,250 laptops were bought at PHP 32,200 each still remains untouched while another 41,500 tablets were purchased and 12,482 of which, with a price ranging from PHP 4,950 to PHP 5,400, are still at DICT.
“Management failed to identify beneficiaries for the CLE Project prior to the acquisition of laptops and tablets, resulting in the low rate of distribution,” COA said.
The CLE, in response, said that these devices were not released because the intended beneficiaries failed to provide a designated contact or are not yet evaluated for eligibility.
In addition, the DICT also found out that laptops were preferred over tablets in piloting cities because of the larger storage and processing power these gadgets provide. Because of this, COA asked them why they still purchased the laptops and tablets without a clear plan for distribution.
Started his freelancing adventure in 2018 and began doing freelance Audio Engineering work and then started freelance writing a few years later.
Currently he writes for Gadget Pilipinas and Grit.PH.
He is also a musician, foody, gamer, and PC enthusiast.
