As thousands of high schools students take the National College Assessment Exam by the Department of Education (DepEd) today, Kabataan Party-list Representative Raymond “Mong” Palatino said the agency should be given the “Best in Cheating” award for the rampant corruption and lack of transparency in procurement and bidding processes for its various projects.

“Habang nagpapa-exam sila ngayon sa libu-libong high school students, bagsak naman ang DepEd sa mata ng publiko dahil sa korupsyong nagaganap sa ahensyang ito. No cheating ang patakaran sa exam, ngunit sila mismo ang nagpapakita ng masamang ehemplo,” Palatino said.

Kabataan Party-list today exposed another DepEd scam involving the agency’s procurement of disposable needles, otoscopes and citronella shampoo. Based on the documents obtained by Palatino’s office, DepEd issued invitations to bid of items with prices higher than their retail prices.

If the price per sachet of the Citronella shampoo was compared to the retail prices of shampoo sachets on the market, DepEd’s citronella shampoo is two to three times more expensive. Moreover, DepEd’s otoscopes priced P2,000 per set is way higher than the quoted prices of other companies, which is P120 and P135 only.

There is also discrepancy between the quoted price per piece of disposable dental needles of DepEd and other companies. While the range of the three companies’ lowest-price calculations is P2.80 to P4.75, DepEd’s price is set at P11.00 per piece.

“At the very least, the price discrepancies revel DepEd’s inefficient bidding process. Yet, considering DepEd’s history of controversial projects such as textbook and noodles scams, we are wary that corruption maybe happening. We urge DepEd officials to explain this anomalous bidding and procurement processes. While these shampoo and medical supplies scams involve smaller amounts compared to the previous scams, this adds another layer of doubt on the agency’s reputation. ” Palatino said.

“Every year, the Department of Education is dragged into strings of anomalous contracts and projects but none of the investigations has reached a satisfactory conclusion,” Palatino said.

“The stink of corruption permeates every brick in public schools, from the lowly municipal schools to the high offices in the Education department. It’s both shameful and tragic to know that from the ranks of people we look up to as educators come the most corrupt officials in the land,” he said.

Palatino filed on July 28, House Resolution No. 1288, aiming to shed light on the pricing discrepancies and possible overpricing of citronella shampoo and otoscope (auriscope). The HR 1288 said the resolution is also aimed to ensure the proper implementation of the health and wellness project by the DepEd, in public elementary and secondary schools. ##