President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Education Secretary Sonny Angara, joined by First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, launched the nationwide deployment of over 231,000 laptops for public school teachers on Monday, beginning with an initial distribution of 209 Apple MacBook Neo units to 10 public schools in Dagupan City.
Held at the Dagupan City National High School, the ceremonial turnover kicks off the rollout under the Department of Education (DepEd) Computerization Program. Of the 231,725 teacher laptops awarded so far, 169,008 are MacBook Neo units and 62,717 are Windows-based laptops, alongside an additional 3,646 MacBook Neo devices for administrative officers.
President Marcos highlighted the impact of the initiative, underscoring the administration’s commitment to empowering educators. “These laptops will equip our school personnel with the tools that they need to carry out their duties more efficiently,” President Marcos said.
To help educators maximize the new devices in the classroom, DepEd and the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) will roll out GuroXL, a comprehensive training program leading to Apple Teacher Certifications and specialized technology leadership credentials. Suppliers have until March 2027 to complete deliveries to beneficiary schools.
Angara emphasized that providing teachers modern tools and training aims to ease their daily paperwork and let them concentrate on their learners.
“Sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos, gusto nating ibigay sa ating mga guro ang pinakamahusay na tools at tamang training para mapadali ang paggawa nila ng lesson plans o reports at mas makapag-focus sila sa pagtuturo,” Angara said.
Dagupan City National High School received 72 MacBook Neo units, while nine other public elementary, integrated, and secondary schools in the city received the remaining 137 devices. Serving around 5,000 learners with 312 personnel, Dagupan City National High School previously had only four official laptops available for its teachers.
Through competitive public bidding, DepEd acquired the laptops at around PHP43,000 per unit, well below standard retail prices, saving at least PHP1.4 billion compared to standard retail prices alone. The laptop packages include built-in productivity tools, nationwide delivery, professional training, and an unprecedented five-year extended warranty, bringing the estimated commercial value of each package to over PHP70,000.
“Dahil naging bukas at patas ang ating bidding, hindi lang tayo nakatipid ng mahigit ₱1.4 bilyon para sa kaban ng bayan, nakakuha pa tayo ng five-year warranty na bihira nating makuha sa mga ganitong procurement,” Angara said. “Patunay ito na kayang maging masinop at sulit ang paggamit ng pondo ng gobyerno nang hindi tinitipid ang kalidad para sa ating mga guro.”
To help educators maximize the new devices in the classroom, DepEd and the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) will roll out GuroXL, a comprehensive training program leading to Apple Teacher Certifications and specialized technology leadership credentials. Suppliers have until March 2027 to complete deliveries to beneficiary schools.
Selection guidelines prioritize schools and teachers yet to receive government-issued laptops, with first priority given to teachers who actively lead educational technology efforts. Schools will submit the recipient lists through the Teacher Assignment for Laptop Allocation (TALA) system, a new registration app for device inventory and property management.
