The cost of leaving a stone unturned: the DepEd laptop scandal

Errant ex-DepEd secretary and ex-doyenne of education Madam Liling Briones and some of her alter egos are at it again two months after stepping down!

What am I pertaining to?

If you are thinking about the results of the PISA test or about the distance learning modalities and their delivery, think again.

To refresh your memory, my dear readers, I am referring to the latest brouhaha that enmeshed the Briones-era DepEd into a cobweb of scandals, intrigues, and other education-related imbroglios that no other past DepEd secretary could ever imagine.

To provide you with a little context, the Liling-led department purchased low-specification laptop computers for teachers, to the tune of PHP 2.4 billion. What got the public’s goat were that the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management was responsible for the purchase; that a construction company was the supplier of the subpar-quality laptops; and, that the past DepEd officials utilized the Bayanihan 2 funds, which is actually illegal and unconscionable.

As I watched the Senate hearing on the laptops controversy, one of the erstwhile officials─ former Usec. Alain del Pascua─ was vehemently denying the accusations of graft and corruption as well as evading responsibility for the fiasco. Former secretary Briones was also stonewalling, and so were the other undersecretaries. Que impertinente y presumido, madre mia De dios!

Is that a conduct becoming of a public official?

Jesus Christ! How can you be responsible stewards of government funds when you cannot even rehabilitate all the public schools in the country and cannot rectify the long-standing errors in your modules and textbooks!
You are all a disgrace to our country, por Dios por santo, Santissima Trinidad! Que barbaridad, que horror!

Apart from the laptops fiasco, you cannot even solve the problem of leftism and communism among your teachers and the students who have been inveigled and manipulated by the unscrupulous, so-called “progressive” groups that our government absolutely abhors and wants dead or alive!
El bobo de la yucca, Liling and company! May you repent from your numerous transgressions against our teachers and learners!

The cost of leaving a stone unturned is great, in your case! No matter how many times you evade the course of justice of the land, the justice of the Divine Maker will eventually catch up with you!

We, the education stakeholders of the Philippines, have many questions left unanswered by you, susmaryosep!

Contrastively, I am enthralled by the way our current DepEd secretary and her team are working hand-in-hand and unceasingly in order to solve the current problems related to face-to-face classes, among other issues. Reforming our education system may take decades and decades, but it can be done.

Of course, with a strong-willed, determined DepEd secretary in the person of VP Sara Duterte-Carpio, supported by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.!


GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHO!

GUESS WHAT: Tomfoolery, callousness, and being paasa are the indelible traits of this academic department head from a university known for coddling professors (and students) who have communistic leanings. My source, who was a recent applicant and who happens to be a friend of mine, told me about his/her experience with our subject. The hapless teacher-applicant, who is also a graduate student, called the department several times to follow through on his/her application. It took about five calls before my source was able to get hold of our subject, who then emailed my source that his/her application would not be pursued. This hijo de cabra subject of ours seems to be biased against the applicant, who happened to have short working stints due to circumstances beyond his/her control.

What are the lessons of the story? To teacher-applicants: do not apply to universities that have a reputation for workplace exploitation, whether overt or covert. To academic heads: never ever discourage applicants for you will never know when they will gobble you up once they become successful. Always be humble and honest, no matter where you are in terms of position. Never lose heart when rejected; instead, fight fair and square by setting up your own enterprise.

GUESS WHO: This review center owned by a famous personality may be renowned for the numerous branches it has nationwide, as well as its bevy of review courses. However, it is hiding a murky secret. No, there is not just one secret, but several. According to my source, whose classmates from high school are nursing graduates several years back, they were not able to ace the board exams due to the dismal quality of teaching and materials. To add insult to injury, the fees for course enrollment by program are exorbitant, perhaps more exorbitant than buying a Honda or Yamaha motor scooter, dios mio perdon!

What are the lessons of the story? To review centers: do not charge exorbitant rates if you are catering to the masses. To board examinees: research on the review centers of your choice through actual referrals and not through some public relations hocus-pocus. When in doubt about a review center, think twice. Study on your own or with friends if you cannot afford review centers, or take advantage of review programs offered at your schools.


If you have suggestions in terms of the education-related topics that you want me to feature, please feel free to send me an email to edteo.ramos@yahoo.com or to coachjet.inspirations@gmail.com and I will reply to you as soon as I receive your email. You may also message me on Facebook through any of my two working accounts: Jet Ramos (personal) and CoachJet Ramos (new and publicly official). You may also view my inspirational videos through my official YouTube account (my comeback will be later in September): Coach Jet’s Weekday Inspirations.