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MANILA, Philippines – Former Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary Kris Ablan confirmed his resignation, according to news site Philstar.com.
Ablan told PhilStar in a report published Thursday evening, May 4, that his resignation, which was effective as of April 28, “has nothing to do with the laptop or Transpac reports of Rappler.”
Rappler tried to reach out to Ablan several times before publishing the stories. We first got in touch with him in December 2022 to ask about the unpaid fees to logistics provider Transpac, as well as the laptops being resold outside. In February 2023, we asked whether the issue had been settled but he instead pointed to DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa. In March, we also asked if there was negligence on the part of DepEd but was again redirected to Poa. On May 3 and 4, we tried to get confirmation about his reported resignation but got no reply. We again reached out on Friday, May 5, and still got no reply.
Rappler published a two-part investigation on May 1 and 2 on how laptops purchased by DepEd ended up for sale in retail stores and Facebook marketplace.
Ablan was not yet part of the DepEd when the contract with Transpac that allegedly failed to deliver a number of the laptops purchased through the DepEd Computerization Program (DCP) was signed.
But the November 2022 demand letter from Transpac obtained by Rappler was addressed to him – when he was already DepEd undersecretary of administration.
“In due time, I will answer point by point the issues raised by those reports in order to clear my name,” Ablan told PhilStar. Rappler has been trying to reach out to no avail.
The first part of Rappler’s investigative series showed how negligence and apparent corruption at the DepEd under then-president Rodrigo Duterte caused the laptops intended for public school teachers to end up being sold in retail stores. Part 2 exposed how the choice of a small Las Piñas-based logistics provider as the winning bidder of a huge DepEd contract was detrimental to public interest.
Read Rappler’s 2-part series.
– with a report from Bonz Magsambol Rappler.com
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