A DAY before the education department’s budget hearing at the House of Representatives, a network of digital advocates is urging Congress to compel the Department of Education to blacklist the suppliers of the Celeron laptop deal.
Digital Pinoys national campaigner Ronald Gustilo said that the Commission on Audit recommended that the suppliers involved in the deal should be blacklisted.
“Congress should use its power of the purse to compel DepEd to blacklist the suppliers involved. While COA made the recommendation to PS-DBM, it is only prudent that DepEd should also comply to prevent a repeat of the incident. The education department should do away with those suppliers as they transact with the government with ill intentions.”
Gustilo also previously called on the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the private contractors involved in the laptop mess.
A Senate inquiry on the laptop deal exposed the grossly overpriced P2.4 billion laptop deal between the procurement service office of the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Education. PS-DBM acquired the overpriced laptops from Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation, LDLA Marketing and Trading Inc., and VST ECS Phils, Inc. at P58,000 per unit for a Celeron processor laptop.
Gustilo also said that with DepEd’s plan to institutionalize blended learning, it is only prudent that contractors with a history of overpricing and other anomalous activities be banned from participating in any government projects.
“Now that institutionalizing blended learning is being discussed, more pieces of equipment will be procured to enable this plan. DepEd should keep in mind that there will be no anomalous deal if there is no criminal supplier. Investigate and blacklist the supplier involved. They should never ever be allowed to do business with the government again.” (UnliNews Online)
