Can DepEd buy over 267,000 laptops in 2027? That’s up to Congress

NEW LAPTOP. Education Secretary Sonny Angara presents to reporters one of the over 170,000 MacBook Neo laptops that will be distributed to public school teachers, during a Palace briefing on November 10, 2026. Department of Education In its wish list to the Senate, the Department of Education is asking for P13 billion to purchase more laptops in 2027. Will the DepEd get its wish? The Department of Education estimates needing a budget of P13 billion to supply more laptops for teachers in 2027. Education Secretary Sonny Angara hopes lawmakers will boost funding for the DepEd Computerization Program, not slash its budget. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. The Department of Education (DepEd) is far from done with purchasing laptops for public school teachers and administrative staff. With funding of P10.68 billion in 2026, the DepEd is buying over 172,000 MacBook Neo laptops from Apple and more than 62,000 Windows-based units. These Windows-based units are Acer Swift Air 14 laptops, as announced by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The total figure for 2026 is nearly double the 140,430 laptops procured and delivered to teachers from 2022 to 2025. The DepEd, however, will need a much bigger budget to supply laptops for all public school teachers, estimated to be at least 840,000 to 900,000 across the country. The agency is already listing who will be prioritized for the distribution until March 2027, covering the latest batch of procured laptops. The next question: How many laptops are expected to be secured in fresh deals next year? In a Palace briefing on Tuesday, November 10, Education Secretary Sonny Angara could only answer: “Hopefully, mabigyan kami ng budget for this (we will be given a budget for this).” Angara has reason to worry. In his first budget season as education secretary, he saw a P10-billion funding cut for the DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) from the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the 2025 General Appropriations Act. The agency was left with only P2.4 billion by the 2025 GAA. To defend the massive decrease, legislators pointed to poor budget use and non-delivery of laptops and other equipment under the DCP during the leadership of Angara’s predecessor, Vice President Sara Duterte. (READ: House budget hearing: Sara Duterte’s DepEd accused of ‘rigged bidding’ for laptops) State auditors also flagged issues with the program during the Duterte administration, under former education secretary Leonor Briones — particularly the “pricey” and “outdated” Intel Celeron laptops. (READ: Ombudsman indicts ex-DepEd chief Briones, officials for graft due to ‘overpriced’ laptops) “Hindi na natin mauulit iyong mga maling desisyon ng nakaraan kung saan hiniwalay pa iyong delivery doon sa pag-procure ng mga items,” Angara said during the Palace briefing. (We won’t repeat the mistakes of the past, where they separated the delivery from the procurement of the items.) While the DepEd is buying the latest MacBook Neo laptops for around P43,000 each — lower than the suggested retail price of P49,990 — not everyone is happy. To critics questioning the agency’s choice of laptop, Angara cited competitive bidding, favorable specifications, and the five-year warranty from Apple. Other suppliers supposedly found it difficult to provide the extended warranty as it was the first time that the DepEd asked for it. Another batch? Still unsure Angara admitted that the DepEd may find it difficult to purchase laptops on a similar scale amid a lower budget proposal for next year. The House version of the 2027 budget already halved the DCP allocation to P2.63 billion. Compared to the 2026 laptop procurement, Angara said such an amount can only cover licenses and emails for teachers. In its wish list to the Senate, the DepEd asked for P13 billion to supply over 267,000 laptops next year. Angara hopes for a “favorable” budget after the bicameral conference committee convenes. “Since lawmakers saw that our teachers and non-teaching staff were pleased with the laptops, maybe they will factor that in when they make their final decision as to how much to allot to the DepEd Computerization [Program],” he said in a mix of Filipino and English. Laptops are not the DepEd’s only problem, though. The agency has a long list of budget requests to address pressing matters such as learning remediation, school-based feeding, mental health, and school safety. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading