The early procurement activity of the Department of Education (DepEd) has led to the timely delivery of laptops and other learning resources in all schools across the country.
This year marks a major shift in how schools receive digital tools compared to previous years, according to Zambales Schools Division Superintendent William Roderick Fallorin.
"If you remember, our laptops are arriving late, our DCP [DepEd Computerization Program] packages. Usually, by the time they arrive schools, it's not 100 percent functional anymore and the others don't seem to be very useful anymore," Fallorin said.
For this year's computerization program, DepEd procured 33,539 laptops for teaching personnel, with 9,466 units already delivered. An additional 5,360 laptops were procured for non-teaching staff, of which 3,255 units have been delivered. As for the Smart TV packages, 25,949 units with external hard drives were procured, with 6,634 units already distributed.
By the second quarter of 2025, approximately 79 percent of the DCP 2025 budget had already been awarded, evidence of the program’s significant head start. With early procurement activity, distribution began earlier than ever before, preventing delays that historically hindered teachers from integrating digital tools effectively into the classroom.
"Early procurement is a big deal,” Fallorin, who oversees around 300 public schools, emphasized.
He attributed the smooth delivery this year to strong leadership.
“It's really a big thing that the administration of Secretary Angara has pushed our early procurement activities. It seems like there's a lot of emphasis on that now. The process has been fast tracked," Fallorin said.
Fallorin also noted that such reforms matter especially to provinces with limited local funds.
"We would like to provide our teachers in Zambales with laptops, but the government's budget is not sufficient. But since it's here, it's quick, teachers will be able to do their jobs better because their equipment is already here," he said.
He expressed his gratitude to the DepEd central office for pushing the agency's early procurement activities.
"We're here in the field to help," he said.
The agency's early procurement aims to ensure that public school teachers no longer have to wait mid-year to receive their tools for teaching, ushering in a new era of readiness, performance, and learner-centered delivery across the country.