On June 2, Wednesday, graft charges were filed before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) against Education Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del Pascua, Caloocan City Mayor Oscar “Oca” Malapitan, two other city officials, and a private individual over the procurement process of P320 million worth of smart tablets from COSMIC Technologies Inc. used by public school students in 2020.
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The tablets were used by students in public schools during the blended-learning set-up implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the complainants, Christopher R. Malonzo, Marylou N. San Buenaventura and Alexander V. Mangasar, they told the OMB that the tablets were purchased without public bidding and were overpriced. They also said that the gadgets allegedly failed to meet the minimum standards set by DepEd to be used by students in distance learning.
Based on their research, they claimed that there were other tablets from the same brand that meet the specifications of DepEd at a price that is 25 and 33 percent lower than those paid for by the city government.
On its face, it can be clearly inferred that the Technical Specifications proposed by the city government of Caloocan City do not meet the minimum Technical Specifications provided for… by the DepEd, through Undersecretary Respondent Pascua,
the complainants said.
It can be noted that the office of DepEd Undersecretary for Administration headed by Pascua is in-charge of setting the minimum specifications for e-learning gadgets through the Information and Communications Technology Service (ICTS and even said that the DepEd has been promoting the minimum technical specifications for gadgets and devices issued by the agency to potential donors and doesn’t dwell on the costs.
The complainants claimed that Pascua still issued a memorandum that the tablets meet all the requirements for providing distance learning for the students despite the obvious difference and the below average technical specifications proposed by the Caloocan City government.
They also added that they have repetitively asked Caloocan City Mayor Malapitan to provide them a comprehensive report on the procurement of the tablets and a contract with Cosmic, but has failed to submit them.
Consequently, Pascua immediately denied any involvement in the procurement process of the said gadgets.
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Graft charges filed against DepEd Usec, Caloocan City Mayor over procurement of P320-M tablets
Reviewed by Issues PH
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June 03, 2021
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Reviewed by Issues PH
on
June 03, 2021
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