Philippines' DepEd buys 172,000 MacBooks, first-time teacher recipients get priority

MANILA — The Department of Education has procured 172,654 Apple MacBook Neo laptops for public school teachers and administrative officers at about ₱43,000 each, with deliveries scheduled from November through March 2027.

The acquisition, which Apple described as its "largest education deal" for Mac computers, will allocate 169,008 laptops to teachers and 3,646 to administrative officers, according to DepEd’s disclosure reported by the Philippine Star.

The Apple MacBook Neo (2026) is Apple's entry-level, budget-friendly 13-inch laptop powered by the mobile-derived A18 Pro chip.

Key Specs:

The department said it completed competitive bidding for the devices.

The figures clarify several questions raised after Apple’s initial announcement, including the intended recipients and approximate purchase price.

At the reported unit price, the acquisition is worth approximately ₱7.4 billion, although DepEd had not disclosed the exact contract amount in that report.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the purchase would reduce teachers’ reliance on personally-funded or outdated equipment.

“For the longest time, our teachers have carried the heavy personal burden of buying their own laptops or maintaining outdated equipment just to keep up with lesson plans,” Angara said.

“Under the vision of President Marcos, we are changing the narrative.”

DepEd said the approximately ₱43,000 unit price covers the laptop, built-in productivity software, delivery and teacher training.

The devices also carry a five-year warranty, which the department described as a first for its laptop procurements, compared with the standard one-year retail warranty.

The department said the price was approximately ₱6,900 below the base model’s current suggested retail price.

That makes the earlier ₱7.82-billion estimate — derived from multiplying an education-store price by 170,000 units — an indicative retail calculation, not the government’s disclosed procurement value.

Apple chief executive John Ternus highlighted the agreement during the company’s November earnings call.

“We recently secured our biggest education deal ever for Mac with the Department of Education in the Philippines,” Ternus said.

“They’re going to deploy 170,000 MacBook Neos to teachers and staff.” His rounded figure was subsequently supplemented by DepEd’s more precise breakdown.

Who will receive the laptops?

Guidelines reported by GMA News on Nov. 8 prioritise schools and teachers that have never received laptops, along with personnel holding education-technology leadership roles or actively supporting technology-assisted teaching.

Recipients must be active employees of the listed school when selected.

Teachers who still have a working government- or school-issued laptop received between January 2023 and Nov. 6, 2026, are ineligible for this round.

However, owning a personally purchased laptop does not disqualify a teacher.

Previous recipients may qualify if official records show their government-issued device was declared unserviceable and decommissioned, damaged or lost in a calamity, or lost through theft or robbery.

Eligible teachers must also have an active DepEd email account with two-factor authentication enabled.

Where available units cannot cover the priority groups, DepEd said selection will be through a draw.

The laptops remain government property and must be returned when a recipient retires or resigns.

Still short of a laptop for every teacher

The MacBook allocation brings the number of teacher laptops contracted under DepEd’s computerisation program to 231,725, including 62,717 Windows-based units.

That is enough for roughly one in four of the country’s nearly 900,000 public school teachers — not universal coverage.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has pledged that every public school teacher will have a laptop before his term ends in 2028.

DepEd had planned to procure more than 250,000 teacher laptops under its 2026 budget, according to Philstar.com.

DepEd acknowledged that the available budget cannot cover every teacher in the current distribution round.

Challenges

Key challenges remain: whether the devices, warranty, training and support deliver reliable classroom tools at a competitive overall cost.

DepEd’s disclosures answer some initial questions.

The department previously said procurement took time because laptops had to meet performance, durability, battery-life and warranty requirements.

Previous DepEd laptop supply contracts had been assailed due to substandard machines purchased.

The "ecosystem" provided by Apple, and its integration with Apple's education-related offerings, may be seen as "limited", especially by the Windows crowd.

The acquisition also comes against the backdrop of a separate ₱2.4-billion laptop procurement in 2021.

If the MacBook Neos are delivered as per specs, it may be a game-changer for Filipino teachers.

State auditors flagged devices purchased at ₱58,300 each despite outdated specifications, while the higher price reduced the number of intended beneficiaries.

In July 2025, the Ombudsman ordered graft and falsification charges against former Education Secretary Leonor Briones and other officials, adopting findings of approximately ₱979 million in government injury.

That proceeding concerns the earlier procurement; it does not establish wrongdoing in the MacBook acquisition. An order to file charges is not a conviction.

For the current rollout, the immediate tests are timely delivery, fair beneficiary selection and whether teachers receive the training and warranty support included in the purchase.

Deliveries are scheduled to continue through March 2027.