THE supplier of the 39,583 laptops for public school teachers on Thursday said it is willing to face any probe, stressing that the units it delivered to the Department of Education (DepEd) meet “all” technical specifications imposed by the government.
“We are ready and willing to participate in any proceedings where we will be given the opportunity to show that our product is reliable and capable for its intended use,” the joint venture (JV) of Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation (SCDC) and LDLA Marketing & Trading Inc. (LDLA) said in a news statement.
They maintained that the laptops are “competitively priced and perform according to their intended use” and are “fully compliant with all technical specifications” provided by DepEd and the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).
“The PS-DBM solicited bids for the supply and delivery of laptop computers with very specific technical requirements. As qualified bidders, we made an offer and won the comprehensive and competitive bidding fair and square. As of early this year, all units have been delivered to DepEd regional offices throughout the Philippines,” the supplier said.
The supplier added that the package came with required specifications, taking into account the cost of the unit, peripherals, software, commercial grade durability, comprehensive 36-month warranty and technical support anywhere in the Philippines, including nationwide delivery and other add-ons.
“This also includes customization of the items/units as required by DepEd. The public should also note that the Dell Latitude 3420 laptops delivered to the government were custom-built directly from the factory and according to the requirements needed by DepEd and therefore cannot be easily equated to a regular off-the-shelf consumer unit. It is inaccurate and unfair to say that the offered price is for the laptops alone,” they stressed.
They explained that while the JV was contracted to supply the equivalent of a 10th-generation processor, they said that they actually delivered the 11th-generation processor, which was the “latest” generation at the time of the project.
“Our clients can also attest that we have been faithfully honoring our after-sales support and warranty and have been helping end-users through our after-sales partners,” it added.
As to the audit findings, the group said it is not aware of any conclusive or final Audit Report that has been published by the Commission on Audit.
“Our companies have a combined experience spanning more than a decade and we intend to protect our respective reputations as honest and ethical business enterprises,” the group stressed.
