COA: P9.9-million IT equipment bought by DepEd-Caloocan unusable

MANILA, Philippines -  Even after spending more than P9.9 million in government funds, efforts to computerize the records management system of some 22 public elementary schools in Caloocan City failed, the Commission on Audit (COA) said in its 2010 report.

The COA said the Department of Education (DepEd) Division of City Schools in Caloocan did not get its money’s worth when it purchased information technology (IT) equipment in 2009.

State auditors said the software package delivered did not meet the data reporting requirements of some 22 schools that were supposed to benefit from the School Integrated Record Management Database and Information System project two years ago.

COA said hardware deficiencies were not addressed by the service provider, Stegda Trading Co., which bagged in May 2009 the contract valued at P9,999,880. State auditors also said Stegda did not properly orient school personnel in the use of the system.

Records show that DepEd-Caloocan signed a deed of donation with the Office of the President on March 31, 2009, allowing it to receive P10 million in financial assistance for the establishment of the Electronic Management System–School Based (EMS-SB) program for 22 public elementary schools in the second district of Caloocan.

The system package per school included a computer package, a computerized system and software development customized based on the school structure and its operational procedures, and a local area network or wireless network installation.

Stegra was also supposed to provide a capacity training package for school personnel on the EMS-SB program and other computer related peripherals, give technical support and warranty, and provide on-call after-sales service. 

COA said a contract was entered into on May 4, 2009 for the private company to supply the former with IT equipment, which was approved by the division’s bids and awards committee.

The COA said one year after the contract was signed, the technician was no longer attending to calls from the schools.

 “Most of the computers were already with virus and when these were reformatted, the original data encoded were lost. The computers are now used as ordinary PCs (personal computers) for encoding of communications, reports and test questions,” the COA said.