DOH: P700,000 purchase of high-end laptops canceled

The Department of Health (DOH) has canceled the P700,000 procurement of four high-end laptops and accessories, which were supposed to be for the department’s analytics.

According to Department of Health Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service Director Enrique Tayag, the laptops were intended for the Centers for Health Department.

“Kinansel na po namin ‘yan, sapagkat naghahanap kami ng funds para sa kailangan ng aming CHD, particularly diyan sa Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center kasi kailangan po nila ng IT support,” he said in a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.

[We canceled that, as we are looking for funds needed for our CHD, particularly in the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center that needs IT support.]

The announcement comes two days after Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega said the procurement was put “on hold,” pending the result of further market study.

Based on the documents from the DOH’s Central Office Bids and Awards Committee, is was looking to acquire four high-end and two-in-one laptops with accessories for a total budget of P700,000.

“’Yan ay gagamitin sana ng aming mga developers. Hindi naman pwede na ‘yung ordinaryong laptop lamang,” said Tayag, who noted that his office was the one who made the request.

“‘Yung opisina ko kasi, kailangan namin, kami ‘yung gumagawa ng mga registry. Halimbawa ‘yung bakuna registry, kailangan naming mailagay at ma-visualize para maparating sa mga policy makers kung ano ‘yung datos at kailangan,” he added.

[That was intended to be used by our developers. We cannot use just ordinary laptops… My office needs that, as we are the one making the registry. For example, the vaccine registry, we need to visualize so that we can give policymakers the data they need.]

The laptops to be procured were required to have at least 10th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor, which is not the latest version of the software available in the market despite the prices in the documents.

“May analytics, so kailangan namin talaga ng mas upgraded na computer. Kung hindi kasi, kung ordinaryo lang, mabagal eh, inaantay ‘yung analytics,” said Tayag.

“‘Yun ‘yung pinag-aralan ng technical team na ‘yung i5 ay hindi naman kailangan ay i7, kasi limitado din kami sa budget,” he added.

[This will be used for analytics, so we really need an upgraded computer. If not, ordinary laptops will just be slow and the analytics are needed immediately… That is what our technical team studied, the i5, and we do not need the i7 because we have a limited budget.]

The hearing comes as the Commission on Audit (COA) flagged deficiencies in the use of P67.32-billion worth of COVID-19 funds, including P11.89 billion that remained unobligated as of December 31, 2020. —NB, GMA News