In a News5 report, it was revealed that a Department of Education (DepEd) supplier, Merryland Publishing Corporation, charged the government agency PHP400,000 for a computer package that’s made up of the following:
1. Educational software
2. Instructional materials
3. One-day technical support
4. Accessories
5. A desktop unit computer with these components: Intel Pentium IV, 128MB RAM, 40GB internal storage, Nvidia GeForce 4 graphics, and Windows 98 SE
Computer experts say such a package should only cost around PHP15,000.
Meanwhile, other suppliers such as Vicarish Publication and Trading Inc. and Book on Wheels had also billed the government for books at PHP200 to PHP300 each. The crazy thing is, the books are supposed to be priced at PHP100 each.
The report said that for the years 2008 to 2010, the three aformentioned companies had earned the following from DepEd:
Merryland – PHP2.8 billion
Vicarish – PHP1.3 billion
Book on Wheels -PHP1 billion
The News5 informat alleged that these companies are in cahoots with some DepEd officials, who, naturally, get kickbacks from the overpricing scam.
