The Department of Education, once regarded as the pillar of national enlightenment, now finds itself mired in a corruption swamp so deep that even its highest offices are not immune to scrutiny. Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent disclosures linking former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co to the illegal procurement of overpriced laptops for public school teachers have sparked renewed public outrage. Her assertion that Co’s company, Sunwest Inc., was involved in the scandal and that confidential funds were used to investigate the issue during her time as Education Secretary casts a long shadow over the agency’s procurement integrity.
The Commission on Audit has already flagged the P2.4 billion laptop purchase as irregular. The laptops, priced at P58,300 each, were outdated and considerably overpriced. The procurement, overseen by the Procurement Service–Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), has led to corruption charges and accusations of falsification against several officials. However, Duterte’s exposé indicates that corruption is even more deeply rooted, implicating not only bureaucrats but also legislators and contractors with political ties.
What makes this scandal particularly insidious is the systemic nature of the corruption. Duterte’s comments about the selective nature of investigations, where probes conveniently stop when they begin to touch the Office of the President, expose a troubling pattern of narrative control. The message is clear: corruption isn't just tolerated; it’s actively promoted.
An Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) shows that a Regional Director of DepEd approved payments for a seminar-workshop, resulting in an overpayment of more than ₱12M for meals and accommodations. The audit reveals that including breakfast and snacks for Day 0 and accommodations for Day 3 violated DepEd’s guidelines, causing costs to drastically exceed permitted rates. With 9,510 participants listed, the excess charges per person reached ₱1,300, indicating a procurement process plagued by negligence and possible collusion. This is not merely a clerical error but a deliberate violation of fiscal discipline. When professional development programs intended to support teachers become avenues for waste and profiteering, it reflects a deeper betrayal. It shows a system where learning takes a backseat to luxury, and public trust is sacrificed for private gain.
The classroom, the most sacred space in the education system, has not been immune. Reports of ghost classrooms, manipulated school building projects, and procurement scams involving furniture and learning materials are common. In one case, a logistics provider subcontracted to deliver laptops ended up selling them in surplus stores and on Facebook Marketplace. These laptops bore DepEd markings, and their presence in retail outlets highlights the agency’s failure to safeguard public property.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s findings that nearly a billion pesos were spent on overpriced laptops further reveal the extent of the deception. The manipulated market survey, accepted without question by DepEd, enabled the overpricing. The committee recommended charges against multiple officials but cleared former Secretary Leonor Briones, suggesting she was used. This raises a troubling question: who, then, orchestrated the scheme?
The House budget hearings also revealed allegations of rigged bidding in an ₱8 billion procurement project under Duterte’s DepEd. Lawmakers observed a suspicious decrease in bid variation after a rebidding process and questioned why previously disqualified bidders were allowed to re-enter. The presence of Duterte’s Chief of Staff as a key figure in the procurement process adds further complexity to the scandal.
Meanwhile, the use of confidential funds remains a controversial issue. Duterte acknowledged using these funds to investigate the laptop scandal, but documentation for the liquidation reports of over ₱112 million in cash advances is still missing. DepEd’s chief accountant admitted to signing these reports without reviewing their contents and confirmed receiving cash envelopes from superiors.
This subtle yet widespread practice of envelope-based bribery has tarnished the agency’s financial system. Former undersecretary Gloria Mercado and other officials have confirmed these secret cash transactions. The implications are serious: if top officials accept unaccounted cash, what hope remains for transparency at lower levels?
Public trust in DepEd has declined. Teachers, already overwhelmed by low wages and crowded classrooms, now face humiliation as pawns in a corrupt system. The promise of education as a tool for national progress is broken when the agency responsible for delivering it turns into a playground for profiteers.
Accountability can no longer be just empty talk. The Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit, and the legislature must act decisively. Investigations need to be thorough, not just for show. Corruption must be eradicated, not simply hidden or moved around. The future of millions of Filipino students depends on it.
The Department of Education must confront a reckoning that extends beyond bureaucratic reshuffling and symbolic inquiries. The issue at hand is not just the integrity of a government agency but also the moral backbone of a nation that depends on educators to shape its future. The classroom should be a sanctuary of truth, not a marketplace of deception. Every dollar stolen from its funds is a lesson lost, a dream postponed, a future compromised. Reform needs to be driven by courage, not convenience. It should be led by those who understand that education isn’t a commodity to buy and sell but a trust to be protected.
Until that covenant is renewed, the story of our schools will remain a tragic record of pedagogy of plunder.