DepEd’s Windows laptops for teachers cost about as much as its MacBook Neos. Unit prices run from about Php 41,000 to Php 42,200 (about $650 to $670) for the Windows laptops and Php 41,200 to Php 42,700 (about $650 to $680) for the MacBook Neo, the Department of Education says in a press release.
That was the fourth of our five questions about the deal: what did the 62,717 Windows laptops cost? If they had come in well under the Macs, the Mac order would have needed a better explanation. They didn’t.
The order covers 169,008 Macs and 62,717 Windows laptops for teachers, plus 3,646 Macs for administrative officers. DepEd signed 78 contracts, with prices varying by bidder, and awarded them to four Mac suppliers and two Windows suppliers.
Every price sits under a budget ceiling of Php 42,718 a unit, which DepEd rounds to about Php 43,000, the per-unit figure in our first story on the deal. So the Macs came in a little under it. One small mismatch: the release’s English text puts the top Windows price at Php 42,200, and its Filipino text says Php 42,000.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara says open, competitive bidding, instead of negotiated procurement, saved at least Php 1.4 billion (about $22 million) against retail prices. DepEd says it widened the competition by scoping the market and updating its technical specifications to draw more bids.
Each laptop comes with a five-year warranty, productivity tools, nationwide delivery and training for the people who get it. DepEd puts the commercial value of that package at more than Php 70,000 (about $1,110) a unit. The release doesn’t show how it got either that figure or the Php 1.4 billion.
It also names no brand or specs for the Windows laptops, no suppliers, and no MacBook Neo configuration. Without those, matching prices don’t tell you whether the two lots are comparable machines.
Distribution of the new MacBook Neos for teachers starts November 9th, and suppliers have until March 2027 to deliver. DepEd says distribution guidelines will put schools and teachers that have never had a government laptop first, especially tech champions and teachers who help colleagues use technology in class.
