The Department of Education (DepEd) hasn’t recovered yet from distance learning woes and are now facing further criticism over the purchase of Mitsubishi Strada vehicles for its field engineers.

In a statement on Monday, October 26, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) slammed the agency over its “injudicious” use of funds to purchase 166 Mitsubishi Strada units, saying this is “DepEd’s own kind of Dolomite scam.”

“We were anguished with this insensible use of education money, especially when our teachers shoulder the costs for bond paper, ink, devices and internet connectivity needed just to make modular and online learning happen amid the pandemic,” ACT said.

This development came after a report from TopGear Philippines which said that DepEd was recently handed 166 units of the Strada 4×4 GLS MT by Mitsubishi Motors Carworld Pampanga.

In a DepEd memo dated October 1, 2020, Education Undersecretary Alain Pascua said that the need to procure service vehicles came up during the agency’s national conference when he asked the Education Facilities Division to identify what they needed.

“The need for service vehicles was highlighted with stories of DepEd field engineers riding with school building contractors when monitoring projects in far-flung areas,” Pascua said.

The memo indicated procurement of 254 units of Mitsubishi Strada 4×4, 88 of which were distributed on December 5, 2019, while the 166 units were handed to them recently. Meanwhile, at least 183 units of passenger vans will also be distributed.

The selling retail price of each Strada unit is pegged at P1.465 million.

In separate documents posted on the DepEd website, the procurement of the service vehicles were allotted with a total of P526.8 million.

In a Viber message to Rappler on Monday, Pascua said Mitsubishi Motors was chosen in particular because it “won in the competitive bidding.”

Pascua also said that not all units have been delivered due to “difficulty of deliver and pick up” in Visayas and Mindanao.

‘Procured pre-pandemic’

Pascua explained the vehicles were procured before the pandemic happened, adding they were unable to distribute them due to the imposition of community quarantines.

“Prior to school opening and even until now, those vehicles have been used and are being used in the delivery of modules, in transporting teachers, and in addressing emergencies,” Pascua said.

The Strada vehicles are being used by the agency’s field engineers to inspect school building programs in far-flung areas.

Pascua said the vehicles were also used by the agency’s disaster risk coordinators during times of calamities and emergencies, like Mindanao earthquakes at Taal Volcano eruption. “4×4 lang pu-puwede tumawid ‘dun,” he explained. (It’s only the 4×4 vehicles that can pass through it.)

“Binili talaga ‘yan ng DepEd para mas makapagserbisyo at mas makapaglingkod sa ating mamayan, lalo na sa malalayong lugar na di maabot ng ordinaryong sasakyan,” he added.

(The vehicles were bought by the DepEd so it could better serve the public, especially in remote areas that cannot be reached by ordinary vehicles.)

Echoing Pascua, Education Undersecretary for Finance Anne Sevilla said that the procurement of vehicles were included in the budget in previous years.

‘No excuse’

Meanwhile, ACT said that the DepEd’s argument that the vehicles were procured before the pandemic was “no excuse” as “severe shortages in basic learning needs have long hounded the education system, and should have been prioritized.”

“Our teachers who were assigned in far-flung areas have long been climbing mountains on foot or on-board risky motorbikes. Today, they do this to deliver modules to learners’ houses, why hadn’t DepEd thought of alleviating their plight first?” ACT asked.

The issue was brought to light at a time when millions of Filipinos students are struggling to cope with the demands of distance learning due to lack of gadgets. (READ: Parents bear the brunt of distance learning as classes shift online) – Rappler.com