The Department of Education (DepEd) recorded major procurement gains in 2025, the first full year under Education Secretary Sonny Angara.

For 2025, DepEd awarded 99.3 percent of its planned procurement chargeable against 2024 funds. The near-total awarding ensured that appropriations were translated into actual programs, goods, and services that directly support classroom learning, rather than remaining unused.

Angara, who served as the principal author of the New Government Procurement Act during his time in the Senate, framed the milestone as a matter of public accountability.

DepEd also accelerated implementation through the strategic use of Early Procurement Activities (EPA). The department awarded 91 contracts for 2025 as early as January, with all EPA contracts awarded by March. This allowed deliveries to schools between March and August of the same year, significantly improving access to learning resources earlier in the school cycle.

Among the major procurement outputs for 2025 were digital and classroom support items under the DepEd Computerization Program, including 33,540 laptops for teaching personnel, 5,302 laptops for non-teaching staff, and 30,440 smart televisions distributed nationwide. The agency also awarded 1,374,231 Science and Mathematics Equipment packages for public schools.

By the end of 2025, DepEd directly entered into contracts for 47 classrooms under the Last Mile Schools program, shifting from conventional construction to a design-and-build approach to address recurring abandonment issues caused by site-specific conditions in remote areas.

Angara also led a major shift in textbook procurement, moving DepEd away from developing manuscripts toward the procurement of available titles in the market. The change significantly shortened the procurement timeline up to delivery, from 245 to 451 days to as short as 180 days.

The streamlined process resulted in time savings of up to 246 days, equivalent to a 26 to 45 percent efficiency gain. More importantly, the reform enabled DepEd to complete the procurement of all planned textbook requirements for 2024 and 2025, ensuring the timely availability of learning materials in schools.

DepEd also awarded several projects aimed at strengthening teacher development and inclusion. These include initiatives on upskilling and reskilling 1,000 professional teachers and graduating pre-service teachers for career progression, as well as policy mapping and strengthened referral mechanisms for learners with disabilities enrolled in the Alternative Learning System.

DepEd likewise advanced the Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project, a five-year, World Bank-funded initiative aimed at improving education quality and access for Kindergarten to Grade 6 learners in Regions IX, XII, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. As part of the project, 16,600 tablets were awarded to support teaching, learning, and instructional leadership in priority areas.

The department also rolled out prototype units of the Disaster Response System for the Learning Continuity Package and upgraded Learning Continuity Spaces to support uninterrupted learning during disasters and emergencies. This includes the deployment of 141 LCS units, composed of two prototypes, six units already constructed in Masbate, and 133 units for nationwide deployment.

DepEd likewise successfully managed the School-Based Feeding Program for fiscal year 2025, covering 3,398,541 beneficiaries for nutritionally fortified food or hot meals for 120 days, and 2,685,054 beneficiaries for milk feeding for 15 days.

For early childhood education, the department awarded 228,740 sets of kindergarten educational toys and 2,216,383 kinder activity sheets, strengthening play-based learning and school readiness for young learners.

With DepEd also receiving its largest budget in history at P1.015 trillion for 2026, the department said it is moving to further strengthen procurement reforms to make systems more agile and responsive. These include expanded early procurement, tighter alignment between planning and actual school needs, and faster delivery timelines to ensure that increased funding results in visible improvements on the ground.