Laptop supplier for DepED says items met gov’t specs, price requirements

The joint venture company which supplied the questioned laptops for the Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday said the computer units it delivered met all the specifications made by the government.

In a statement, the joint venture of Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation (SCDC) and LDLA Marketing & Trading Inc. (LDLA)stressed that the laptops were competitively priced, and performed according to their purpose.

SCDC-LDLA said the computers for the use of teachers were “fully compliant with all technical specifications provided by the Department of Education and the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).”

“The PS-DBM solicited bids for the supply and delivery of laptop computers with very specific technical requirements. As qualified bidders, we made an offer and won the comprehensive and competitive bidding fair and square," SCDC-LDLA said.

"As of early this year, all units have been delivered to DepEd regional offices throughout the Philippines,” it added.

‘Priced competitively’

The joint venture firm said the laptop sets are priced competitively based on the required specifications taking into account the cost of the unit, peripherals, software, commercial grade durability, comprehensive 36-months warranty and technical support anywhere in the Philippines, including nationwide delivery and other add-ons.

This also includes the customization of the items/units as required by DepEd, it said.

In its annual audit report on the DepEd for 2021, the COA raised concerns about the DepEd's purchase of laptops for teachers in order to implement distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It described the purchased equipment as "pricey and outdated" as there were more affordable and better options available.

The COA said that the purchase of the more expensive laptops than the ones on budget resulted in the procurement of fewer units, depriving over 28,000 teachers of the benefit.

"Based on the initial feedback we gathered from the auditors in the NCR and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), they stated that the delivered laptop computers by the winning bidder are too slow because the processor is... outdated; and the price is too high based on the specifications as attached to the DepEd Memorandum," the audit report said.

“Per available documents, the Audit Team could not ascertain the DBM-PS' basis for adopting the unit price of P58,300," it added.

The audit report said the supposed number of laptops to be procured of 68,500 units was significantly reduced to 39,583 units which was mainly due to the huge increase in the estimated cost of P35,046 to P58,300 anchored on the DBM-PS' recommendation, which was duly accepted by the DepEd.

State auditors said the DepEd settled and agreed with the price and technical specifications provided by PS-DBM.

11th generation processor

The SCDC-LDLA joint venture said the “Dell Latitude 3420 laptops delivered to the government were custom-built direct from the factory and according to the requirements needed by DepEd and therefore cannot be easily equated to a regular off-the-shelf consumer unit.”

“It is inaccurate and unfair to say that the offered price is for the laptops alone,” the joint venture company said.

The joint venture added that while it was contracted to supply the equivalent of a 10th generation processor, it said that it actually delivered the 11th generation processor which was the latest generation at the time of the project.

“Our clients can also attest that we have been faithfully honoring our after sales support and warranty and have been aiding end users through our after sales partners,” the SCDC-LDLA joint venture said.

As to the audit findings, the joint venture firm said it was not aware of any conclusive nor final Audit Report that has been published by the Commission on Audit. 

“We are ready and willing to participate in any proceedings where we will be given the opportunity to show that our product is reliable and capable for its intended use,” it said.

“Our companies have a combined experience spanning more than a decade and we intend to protect our respective reputations as honest and ethical business enterprises,” it added.

The PS-DBM is planning to launch an investigation into the P2.4 billion worth of laptops it procured for the DepEd in 2021. 

The Makabayan bloc lawmakers also sought a congressional investigation into the procurement of the laptops. —NB, GMA News