Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 17) — Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday urged the Bureau of Customs to donate millions of pesos worth of confiscated gadgets such as cellphones and laptops to teachers and students in need of them.
Marcos said the bureau recorded 29.5 tons of such items as of August this year that were just sitting in Customs warehouses due to lack of proper documentation when they can be distributed amid pandemic and make life easier for struggling students and teachers.
“I hope they would just donate them to the students and teachers who are having the hardest time trying to comply with the online education requirements,” she told CNN Philippines’ News Night.
Marcos said an average family with three kids would need about P25,000 to acquire second hand laptops and internet connection for distance learning, which will start on Oct. 5 for public schools.
She added that she has previously reached out to the bureau, asking them not to just dispose of equipment such as smuggled luxury vehicles by smashing them.
In a separate statement, the senator noted that the bureau had donated 800 of the cars to uniformed personnel.
“Why can’t it solve the worries of thousands of poor students by donating confiscated electronic gadgets?” urged Marcos.