DepEd to deliver overdue textbooks

The Department of Education is set to deliver starting Monday part of more than 38 million textbooks and teacher’s manuals to public elementary and high schools nationwide after almost two years.

The 38,130,650 textbooks and teachers’ manuals include 12 million textbooks earlier ordered held by a Manila Regional Trial Court judge due to alleged anomalous government bidding procedures.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the Supreme Court lifted the injunction order of Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez and stopped further proceedings against the delivery of the textbooks: "This latest procurement should have resulted in the delivery of textbooks into the hands of our 18 million students, more than a year, or almost two years ago."

"It is a wonder, therefore, that our country, despite having sourced the funds, either from our budget, or borrowed money, has been unable to deliver textbooks on time... So is it a wonder that the ratio of textbooks per pupil is always precariously endangered of going less than one is to one."

Lapus said it is a big accomplishment for government to succeed in bidding, awarding, delivering and paying for the textbooks within one year.

"In the private sector I would have fired you if it took you one year to do that," he said. "But now that I’m here in DepEd, I realize it is indeed a formidable feat.

"I hope we will be able to do something to make all the players, especially the bidders and the judiciary realize that all these exercise of delay is enjuring our already critical quality of education," he said.

In a telephone interview, Carol Rivera, DepEd procurement monitoring division coordinator, said that before the national textbook delivery program was made, the education department did contracts with suppliers for the printing and delivery of textbooks within a 150-day period.

"Now, with the program, contracts for the printing of textbooks also were determine when to deliver," she said. "We also have civil society volunteers to observe the delivery, inspection and acceptance of these textbooks."

Rivera also supervises the education program specialists of DepEd’s Instructional Materials Council Secretariat (IMCS).

On Dec. 13, 2006, Education Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Franklin Sunga ordered held the nationwide delivery of textbooks and teachers’ manuals for Sibika Grades 1 to 3 and Hekasi Grades 4 to 5, after the Manila RTC issued a "final injunction" on Dec. 4.

He again issued an order on Dec. 27, 2006 for the delivery of the textbooks after the SC voided the lower court’s injunction order on Dec. 20.

In issuing the injunction, the RTC cited the conflict of interest in the bidding process after it was found out that some members of the boards of different companies engaged in the bidding were the same.

However, the government bidding and awards committee (BAC), composed of members from DepEd and other government agencies ruled that there was no conflict.

The DepEd aims to deliver 3,895,382 textbooks and teacher’s guides in High School Science Years I to III funded by the government.

Some 1,988,010 textbooks and teacher’s manuals in Hekasi 6 and 3,785,756 textbooks and manuals in Araling Panlipunan I to IV funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will also be delivered through the program.

Some 22,450,837 textbooks and teacher’s manuals in English for Grades 1 to 6, and 6,010,665 textbooks and teacher’s manuals in High School I to IV funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank will also be delivered. — Sandy Araneta