Senators grill DepEd exec over laptop purchase; official denies approving procurement

Senators on Thursday grilled Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua on his supposed approval of the procurement of laptops that were allegedly overpriced.

During the blue ribbon committee hearing on the procurement, Senator Ronald Dela Rosa asked the Department of Education why it agreed with the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (PS-DBM) to purchase the laptops at P58,000 per unit.

"Bakit kayo pumayag na taasan ng PS-DBM ang presyo? Very clear ito sa records na pumayag kayo, from P35,000 ginawang P58,000... bakit kayo pumayag? Puwede malaman ano nangyari bakit kayo pumayag?" Dela Rosa asked.

(Why did you allow PS-DBM to increase the price? It's very clear in the records that you allowed this, from P35,000 to P58,000. May I know the reason why?)

Former DepEd secretary Leonor Briones referred the question to Pascua, saying she too had asked for an explanation on the matter.

"Sa kaniya 'yung ICT (information communications technology) unit natin [The ICT unit was under him]. I asked for an explanation for that actually and it is in writing," Briones said.

Action slip

For his part, Pascua explained that the PS-DBM had given them an action slip prior to the procurement, which indicated the quantity and the price of the laptops.

He said it was ICT Director Abram Abanil who signed the concurrence on that action slip, in which there was an option to purchase laptops in lesser quantity.

"As to bakit pumayag ang DepEd doon sa presyo na binigay ng PS-DBM, ang PS-DBM po ay nagbigay sa amin ng parang action slip at nilagay nila doon sa action slip [As to why DepEd agreed, the PS-DBM gave us an action slip], which is already part of the sworn statement I have provided you. There's an annex there where there is an action slip coming from PS-DBM that says there the price that we have given them, the P35,000 price and the number of quantity that we have also asked them to procure," he said.

"Then they put there the price that they have, what they have agreed as the median of the market canvass that they have conducted, that's about P50,000 plus and they arrived at the negative P1 billion something funds needed to procure those laptops that we have asked them to procure," Pascua said.

"On that bottom of that annex, they put there the option for the DepEd whether to accept the lesser quantity, that's the action slip that they have provided us and the ICTS Director Abram Abanil signed that concurrence on that action slip. It was never addressed to the higher ups of the DepEd," he explained.

Dela Rosa, in response, stressed that the DepEd should have not agreed to this action.

'Kapresyo ng Macbook Air'

Meanwhile, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said the price is already similar to that of a Macbook Air.

"Is it incompetence o kakuntsaba ka ng mga taga-DBM-PS? In-approve niyo P58,000, kapresyo ng Macbook Air, paano mo naman ia-approve ang entry level na kapresyo ng Macbook Air?" Cayetano said.

(Is it incompetence or are you in connivance with the DBM-PS? You agreed with the P58,000 price that is the same as that of a Macbook Air. How can you approve an entry level laptop that supposedly has the same price of a Macbook Air?)

Pascua then insisted that he did not approve the purchase of the laptops.

"Your Honor, siguro mas maganda tanungin natin papaano nag-arrive at P50,000 plus market value," Pascua said. "Hindi namin inapprove 'yun, Your Honor..."

(Your Honor, it would be better if we ask how they arrived at that more than P50,000 price. We did not approve that.)

Cayetano claimed that Pascua was changing his answer: "You are changing your answer. If I ask the stenographer to repeat, sinabi mo na kanina, ikaw 'yung nag-approve [you said earlier that you approved the purchase]."

Pascua maintained that he did not approve the purchase, reiterating that there was an action slip provided by the PS-DBM that was concurred by the DepEd's ICT unit.

"Hindi ako ang nag-approve, Your Honor. Hindi ko sinabing ako ang nagapprove. Ang sinabi namin, nagbigay ang PS-DBM ng action slip na kinoncur ng ICTS. Hindi ko sinabi na ako ang nag-confirm o nag-concur," Pascua said.

(I did not approve that, Your Honor. I did not say that I approved it. What I said was the PS-DBM provided an action slip that was concurred in by the ICTS. I did not say that I confirmed or concurred with it.)

COA report

In its annual audit report on the DepEd for 2021, the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged the agency's purchase of laptops for teachers to implement distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state auditor said the purchase of the more expensive laptops resulted in the procurement of fewer units, depriving over 28,000 teachers of the benefit.

Blue ribbon committee chairman Senator Francis Tolentino, in the hearing, said he has the documents to show that the procurement was approved by Pascua and Abanil.

"May I remind you and may I refer you to your statement made at exactly 10:50 a.m., and I quote, 'This was never addressed to the higher ups.' Sinabi mo 'yun, nasa transcript 'yun [you said that and it was in the transcript]," said Tolentino.

"Ang lumalabas ngayon, kagaya ng sinasabi ni Senator Cayetano, dalawa lang kayong nagpirmahan dito. Hawak ko 'yung dokumento, a certain Abram Abanil, kayong dalawa lang ang nagaprubahan nito," he added.

(It shows here that it was the two of you who signed the document. I have here the document stating that a certain Abram Abanil and you approved the purchase.)

As Pascua continued to deny that he approved the procurement, Tolentino warned him not to raise his voice before the lawmakers.

"Huwag mong taasan ang boses mo. Kaya tayo may microphone dito. You don't have the right to elevate the modulation of your voice. Naririnig ka namin, huwag mo kaming sigawan," Tolentino said.

(Do not raise your voice. That's why we're using a microphone here. You don't have the right to elevate the modulation of your voice. We can hear you, you don't need to shout at us.)

Pascua apologized and said: "Ang hinihingi ng PS-DBM sa amin ay kung 'yung option ba na pag ganyan ng presyo ay bababaan ang quantity. 'Yun po ang kinoncur ng ICTS ng DepEd."

(What the PS-DBM asked us was the option of that specific price but a lesser quantity of laptops. That's what the ICTS concurred.)

Cayetano pointed out that the act of concurrence of the DepEd's ICT unit was similar to approving the purchase of the overpriced laptops.

"Eh di ganon din 'yun, pinaikot mo lang eh [It's the same thing. You are just giving us the runaround]," Cayetano said.

"Hindi mo puwedeng sabihin na in-approve mo 'yung ganon kadami pero di mo in-approve 'yung ganong presyo kasi it goes together [You cannot approve that without approving the price because it goes together]," he added.  —KBK, GMA News