2 vendors nabbed for selling stolen DepEd laptops in QC

Two vendors were arrested by authorities on September 7 for selling stolen laptops from the Department of Education (DepEd) at a shopping mall in Fairview, Quezon City.

A Balitanghali report by Cesar Apolinario on Wednesday identified the suspects as Salvacion Marco and Jellyn Gabito who both refused to comment on the allegations against them.

"'Yung mga nagbebenta ng ganito, pwedeng isara 'yan... padlockan 'yan kasi unang-una wala kang imbentaryo ng mga binebenta mo. It's a warning now doon sa mga in possession," said Police Chief Superintendent Joselito Ezquivel, district director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

Officials from the DepEd discovered that the laptops, which originally cost P40,000, were being sold for only P11,000.

It was confirmed that the laptops were owned by the DepEd because the logo of the agency would appear whenever you turned them on.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones expressed concern over the incident, saying those laptops are among those being used as part of the K-12 curriculum.

"Hindi ito para sa teachers kumbaga para sa pupils, gagamitin sa classroom. Kaya ang classrooms dapat may security precaution sila. Ang requirement din natin dapat ang local governments, magprovide sila ng security guard dahil nga napakarami ng issue natin ng computers," Briones said.

The report said only a few of the stolen laptops have been recovered.

Three suspects identified as Alberto Gacim, Angelo Rabe, and alias Ganda remain at large. — Anna Felicia Bajo/MDM, GMA News