Overpriced PCs have been going on since 2002

If you thought the whole saga about the overpriced, obsolete PCs couldn’t get any worse, you’re sadly mistaken. We did some digging and it turns out that this issue isn’t a new one, as the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star reported on a similar case of overpricing back in 2013 involving former Bacolod congressman Monico Puentevella. According to the reports, the former congressman (and now Mayor of Bacolod City) allegedly funneled funds from his PDAF or pork barrel allocation to purchase PCs and computer packages that would later turn out to be defective and unsuitable for school use. The amount used for these useless PCs? Around 38 million pesos, covering a period from 2002 to 2005.

According to the reports, the computers that were sold at Php 400,000 each (which jives with the alleged overpriced estimate in TV5’s report) were oftentimes unusable and defective, with the report saying that the CPUS “did not work and did not project images onto monitors, except that of the face of Puentevella.” Interestingly enough, the supplier that was linked to Puentevella’s case is the same Merryland Corporation that was mentioned in TV5’s report, which shows that there is definitely a link between the two cases aside from the same ridiculously high amount on the obsolete computers. We’re really hoping that the DepEd and the Ombudsman do something about this case and the allegations, especially since we’re talking about devices and products that are supposedly being used to educate our nation’s future.