By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Reinforcing the administration’s commitment to looking after the welfare of teachers, the Department of Education (DepEd) continues to harness its funds to give the best for the men and women who educate the Filipino youth.
This, as the agency secured its bid for 172,654 Apple Macbook Neo laptops for public school teachers and administrative staff nationwide.
The procurement of these portable computers forms part of the DepEd Computerization Program, which provides educators with access to up-to-date equipment and honors their indispensable sacrifices and dedication to their profession.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said of the milestone, “We welcome Apple’s participation in this procurement to bring MacBook Neo to our teachers. It isn’t just about handing out world-class hardware with five-year warranties; it’s about giving our educators the best tools, backed by robust training so they can focus on what matters most: teaching our children.”
For his part, Apple CEO John Ternus welcomed the deal with DepEd, which he touted as the biggest education deal for Mac, “I’m feeling great about the opportunities ahead for Apple, from our product roadmap and broad range of services to promising areas like health, emerging markets, enterprise, and education.”
The Macbook Neo package was secured at approximately P43,000 per unit with a five- year warranty, about P6,900 below the base model’s Philippine suggested retail price of P49,900 and with longer coverage compared to retail units.
The deployment of all 172,654 MacBook Neo units is scheduled from November 2026 through March 2027, and will be facilitated by a series of cluster and mega-cluster launches nationwide spearheaded by DepEd and Apple.
To seamlessly integrate technology into daily classroom teaching, DepEd is collaborating with Apple to launch GuroXL, a co-designed comprehensive training framework. In coordination with the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), the training pathway will guide educators toward Apple Teacher Certifications and specialized tech leadership credentials. (with report from Angelika Abrogar | PTV News)
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