Even government property meant for public school students are being stolen.
Officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) today announced the arrest of two women earlier this month for allegedly selling a laptop that was purchased by the DepEd for public school students.
Manila Bulletin identified the sellers as Salvacion Marco and Jellyn Gabito, both of whom were arrested at a mall in Novaliches, Quezon City.
The authorities learned about the stolen laptop’s whereabouts when it was advertised on the internet, where it was valued at PHP11,000 (US$203) much less than its original price of PHP39,000 (US$721).
An employee of the DepEd posed as a buyer and met the suspects at the store inside the mall where the laptop was being sold.
According to ABS-CBN News, the employee saw that a logo of the DepEd would appear whenever the laptop was turned on, proving that it belonged to the agency.
It couldn’t get any more obvious than that.
Apparently, the laptop was stolen from a public school teacher in Tabuk, Kalinga in August.
And this is not an isolated case — this is the 17th recorded incident where a laptop procured by the DepEd was stolen.
Marco and Gabito will be charged with the Anti-Fencing Law but police are still looking for the supplier, a certain Angelo “Ganda” Diata, and the owner of the store named Alberto Galcim.
Education Secretary Leonor Briones slammed those responsible for the loss of the computers. She said in Filipino: “Those were meant for students who will lose their right to an education.”
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