THE DEPARTMENT of Education said that it did not purchase the camera that was earlier described as “overpriced” in socia media posts.

“The Department has traced the now-deleted post of photojournalist Jhun Dantes, and shared by the account of a certain Renato Reyes, of a Canon 1500D camera with a DepEd sticker attached indicating an acquisition cost of P155,929, as a property of the Schools Division Office of Imus City,” the DepEd said in a statement.

“The camera was given by the local government unit to the SDO,” it added.

The department called on netizens “to be circumspect in their posts to ensure that no misinformation is propagated.”

The agency said it is taking measures to ensure that values of integrity, transparency, and accountability are being upheld by its officials, teachers and non-teaching personnel.

“In the past months, we have immediately acted on several legal cases filed against alleged erring public officials, personnel, and service providers of DepEd,” it said.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee earlier recommended the filing of charges against former and current officials of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management and DepEd involved in the acquisition of overpriced laptops for teachers in 2021.

“The filing of cases against past and present officials of the DepEd, as recommended by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will be referred to the Office of the Solicitor General for evaluation and appropriate action,” DepEd said.

It said that it has acted on allegations of fraud and irregularities against its personnel.

The agency urged the public “to be vigilant and to actively report any fraudulent and unethical acts of DepEd personnel.“