Pangilinan hits gov't for failed ICT projects

Senate Majority Leader Kiko Pangilinan on Thursday condemned government's apparent propensity to engage in dubious communications projects, saying these deals rob the nation millions of pesos that could be allocated to education.

Pangilinan said, "The administration seems to have its priorities all muddled up. The controversial Cyber Education Project (CEP) and the NBN deals are just the tip of an iceberg of priority mismatches and dubious dealings in government."

"The government chooses to engage in more unsustainable communications projects that are now causing the loss of millions of pesos in public funds. Think of how many classrooms, books, school chairs and teachers these ill-advised projects could've financed," he lamented.

He added, "Why are we carrying out these deals when they cost us so much more than their projected gains?"

"Has anyone ever been held accountable for these mistakes? These said projects alone total to almost P3.5 billion, all of them either underutilized or non-operational," he noted.

He pointed out, "Then we listen to the Senate hearings on education and we hear of classroom shortages and inadequate teacher training because there is not enough money channeled to education."