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THE Department of Education (DepEd) aims to distribute 240,000 laptops to teachers in 2026, alig ning with the government’s efforts to promote digitalization in the education sector.

“That’s one of the main programs of our President because he is techie,” Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said in Filipino at the 2025 National Teachers’ Month Kick-off.

Citing President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address, Mr. Angara said all teachers will have their own computer before Mr. Marcos leaves his post in 2028.

“He believes in the power of technology, the transformative power of technology,” he said.

The 2026 National Expenditure Program (NEP) allocated P928.52 billion to the department, of which P13.8 billion will fund the DepEd Computerization Program to advance digital learning.

As part of the department’s technological advancement efforts, Mr. Angara also highlighted in his speech that DepEd is working with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in bringing connectivity to last-mile schools and Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) across the country.

“That’s also one of the main programs of our President, to bring connectivity to the last-mile schools and to the GIDA areas,” he said.

The last-mile schools cater to 1.6 million learners, and half of these schools are located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, according to a report from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). — Almira Louise S. Martinez

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