The Department of Education (DepEd) will distribute more than 62,000 laptops and smart TV packages worth P1.8 billion to schools across 16 regions by the second half of the year, the agency announced on Friday.

The units are broken down as 23,614 smart TV packages, 33,539 laptops for teachers, and 5,328 laptops for non-teaching personnel.

Region IV-A (CALABARZON), Region VI (Western Visayas) and Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) received the highest allocation for the ICT equipment.

The rollout continues despite a P10-billion budget cut that initially hampered DepEd’s computerization program, reducing its original target of 800,000 laptops and smart TVs for the year.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said they are working closely with the Department of Finance to restore funds, ensuring the uninterrupted implementation of its digital initiatives.

“This year, our computerization programs will continue with the help of President Bongbong and my fellow cabinet members. Our goal is for each school to have an ‘e-cart’ or roving computer lab that all students can use. Additionally, we are providing various software tools to support our teachers,” Angara said.

The initiative aims to improve the country’s low teacher-to-laptop ratio, which remains a challenge.