By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet

Consistent with the administration’s firm resolve towards uplifting the education sector, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced its staged rollout of laptops to more than 231,000 teachers nationwide from November 2026-March 2027.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Education Secretary Sonny Angara noted that this initiative forms part of the DepEd Computerization Program, which would also provide educators with digital tools to facilitate classroom instruction and lesson preparation in public schools.

The campaign will cover 221 school division offices and more than 40,000 schools nationwide, with priority to be given to teachers and schools that have not benefited from previous rollouts of government-issued laptops, as well as those with limited access to digital equipment.

Secretary Angara expounded, “Uunahin natin iyong mga schools na walang allotment, so, iyon ang priority at saka after that iyong priorities iyong schools na may IT program and EdTech or Educational Technology programs iyong Khan Academy, et cetera.”

He also reiterated how the government was able to secure these machines through a competitive bidding process that drove prices below prevailing retail rates, while sweetening the deal through preloaded software, included accessories, training, delivery, and a five-year warranty coverage.

Equally notable is the endurance of these Apple laptops, which can last up to eight hours on a single charge and can cover a whole day of usage for teachers hopping between classes and lecturing students from morning to afternoon.

Deterrence

At this juncture, the Education Chief outlined safeguards in place to ensure that each laptop remains accounted for and cannot be sold or pawned by its owners or custodians.

He explained that these units were enrolled under DepEd’s Mobile Device Management (MDM), which can enable authorities to remotely lock or disable stolen or illegally sold devices, with violators bound to face administrative and criminal charges.

Secretary Angara warned, “Hindi po puwedeng ibenta ang mga ito dahil nananatili itong government property. Bawat paaralan ay may nakatalagang property custodian na nagbabantay sa imbentaryo at maayos na paggamit ng mga laptop.”

Earlier, Apple hailed this procurement as the company’s biggest education deal for Mac, with CEO John Ternus expressing optimism about how it will drive meaningful change among Filipino youth.

While current stocks do not yet cover all public school teachers, DepEd is partnering with local governments and expanding connectivity programs to reach a 1:1 laptop-to-teacher ratio.

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