'Di puwedeng ordinaryong laptop:' DOH says P700,000 laptops for program developers, upgrade

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'Di puwedeng ordinaryong laptop:' DOH says P700,000 laptops for program developers, upgrade

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Aug 18, 2021 08:56 PM PHT

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MANILA (UPDATED) — The health department would have used the P700,000 worth of 4 laptops for their program developers and to upgrade their computer system, a health official said on Wednesday.

Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the Department of Health's (DOH) Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service, said they have canceled the procurement to allot the budget to a Baguio hospital that needed the funds.

"Kinancel na po namin yan sapagkat naghahanap kami ng funds para sa kailangan po ng aming [Centers for Health Development] particularly diyan sa Baguio General Hospital Medical Center kasi kailangan po nila ng IT support," Tayag told lawmakers during the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on how the agency spent its pandemic response funds.

(We cancelled it because we are looking for funds that our CHD in Baguio needs. They also need IT support)

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But Tayag said the laptops could have been an "upgrade" for their computer system for their data analysis.

"Pero bago po namin kinansela yan, 'yan pong mga laptop pong yan ay gagamitin sana ng aming mga developers. Hindi naman po puwede Mr. Chair na ordinaryong laptop," he pointed out.

(Before we cancelled it, these laptops were supposedly for our developers. We can't be using ordinary laptops)

"Yung opisina ko po kasi kailangan po namin dahil kami po ang gumagawa ng mga registry, halimbawa, yung bakuna registry, kailangan po namin mailagay at ma-visualize para maiparating sa mga policymakers kung ano na po yung datos at kailangan na po sapagkat may analytics din," he explained.

(My office needs to do registry, the vaccine registry, and we need to visualize it for the policymakers, give them the data and our analysis)

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When asked by Sen. Richard Gordon the brand of the laptops, Tayag said they have yet to find it out because the transactions did not push through.

He added that they only put the specifications in the documents because naming a brand is restricted.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, stressed the importance of naming the laptop's brand and model that the DOH wants to buy.

“I’ve never heard of a P700,000 (computer). I use a gaming computer. This is a Predator. This is one of the fastest computers. It costs us P96,000. Sana maibigay nila yung model number ng laptop na yan," Zubiri added.

(I hope they give us the model number of the said laptops)

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Earlier this month, the DOH was in the process of acquiring 4 sets of "High-End 2-in-1 Laptop with Accessories" worth P700,000, according to a document from the agency dated Aug. 4, 2021.

The request came from his office, according to Tayag.

"Kailangan namin talaga ng mas upgraded na computer. Kung ordinary lang mabagal. Inaantay po ang analytics. Yung nakikita niyo po na nire-report ng DOH... dahilan po sa ginagamit naming computer ay hindi ordinaryong computer," according to the official.

(We need an upgraded computer. If it is ordinary, it is slow. Our analytics team is waiting for it for the reports of DOH. We are using other upgraded computers for our analysis)

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is expected to reconvene on August 25 to further discuss the COA findings on the DOH's expenditures.

— with a report from Johnson Manabat, ABS-CBN News

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