Replacing DepEd’s outdated and pricey laptops not covered by warranty

Manufacturer warranties do not cover replacing outdated laptops purchased by the Department of Education for public school teachers, Dell’s Country Manager Ronnie Latinazo said, during the Senate blue ribbon committee’s hearing.

Dell provided laptops within the PS-DBM’s specification of 1.8 gigahertz base speed with 4 megabytes of cache.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III asked Latinazo: “So you, Dell Philippines, consciously, you knew that you were supplying a 1.8 gigahertz base speed. Now, if you are now told subsequently after you have delivered the notebooks, the requirement is 1.9 gigahertz base speed… is that part of your warranty?”

“No” Latinazo responded.

Pimentel asked Latinazo whether it would entail another payment for the distributor due to the lack of warranty coverage.

The manager answered: “Probably, your honor

DepEd spent P2.4 billion to buy entry-level laptops for 39,583 public school teachers.