DepEd flagged over ‘defective’ tablets for distance learning

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Education (DepEd) over “defective” tablets amounting to P116.764 million which were purchased for the implementation of the distance learning program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In its 2022 annual audit report on DepEd released last Aug. 24, the COA said educational tablets procured by the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Batangas under DepEd Regional Office IV-A were found to have several defects by the COA-Technical Audit Specialist (TAS) team.

The COA said the tablets were purchased for distance learning and blended learning modalities under the DepEd’s Basic Education Learning Continuity Plan (BE-LCP), launched by the agency in 2020 to ensure the continuous delivery of lessons to students amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supplier of the defective tablets was not identified in the audit report, but the COA’s record showed that the items were delivered to SDO Batangas on various dates in 2021.

The COA said that aside from the lack of National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) certification logo, the tablets inspected by the TAS team also exhibited some mechanical defects.

“Delivered subject equipment developed mechanical defects such as the screen started to malfunction, become unresponsive and does not produce any image upon boot up,” the audit report read.

“The battery started to swell even though it is stored properly,” it added.

The COA pointed out that the typical estimated life of lithium-ion batteries such as those found in the procured tablets should be “two to three years or 300 to 500 charge cycles, whichever occurs first.”

The COA said the DepEd’s acceptance of the defective items contravened the agency’s own Division Memorandum 016, s. 2021 dated Jan. 19, 2021, which provides that the procured tablets are intended to be used for at least five years.

The COA also cited Section 62 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (RIRR) of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, which provides that “manufacturing defects shall be corrected by the supplier under the warranty period after acceptance by the Procuring Entity of the delivered supplies.”

The COA said the DepEd must compel the concerned Property Officer and the Inspection and Acceptance Committee “to provide justification/reasons for acceptance of the defective educational tablets” while the warranty obligations must be enforced against the erring supplier/s “for the defects found within the warranty period.”

In a reply incorporated in the audit report, the DepEd management explained that items were accepted “upon determination of the inspectorate team of its conformity with the specifications and quantity based on the Purchase Order (PO) and thorough inspection by sampling 20 percent of the total delivery.”

“The tablets that malfunctioned after issuance to the end users were replaced/repaired by the supplier through the Division Supply Officer,” the DepEd added.