MANILA—The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday tagged the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) over the alleged purchase of "outdated" and "pricey" laptops for teachers.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the DepEd for acquiring P2.4 billion worth of old model laptops through the PS-DBM.

The purchase of the "pricey" laptops resulted in the procurement of fewer units, which also "adversely decreased the number of intended beneficiaries from 68,500 to 39,583 public school teachers," state auditors said.

In a statement, the DepEd said the price of the laptops can "be best answered" by PS-DBM since the latter was the one that procured the laptops.

"The Department only received the laptops from PS-DBM," the DepEd said. "DepEd commits to working closely with the COA to ensure the continuous improvement of its services to the public."

DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa earlier said they are waiting for feedback from the COA after they submitted "documentary requirements" in relation to the purchase of the laptops.

• DepEd on 'pricey, outdated' laptops: We've submitted required docs to COA

The PS-DBM has yet to release a statement, as of writing.

The PS-DBM has been embroiled in controversies before, recently being its controversial multibillion-peso transactions with Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp and alleged mismanagement of COVID-19 response funds.

• 'Like Frankenstein': How powerful is the PS-DBM?

Former Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon had raised PS-DBM’s questionable access to government agencies’ funds and seemingly expanded function during the deliberation of the 2022 proposed P2.11 trillion allocation for the agency.—With a report from Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News

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