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Advocates Philippines
VP Sara Links Zaldy Co, Sunwest To DepEd Laptop Scandal; Questions 'Selective' Corruption Probes
FILE
Vice President Sara Duterte has accused resigned Ako-Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co and contractor Sunwest of being involved in the controversial Department of Education (DepEd) laptop procurement, saying an internal probe she ordered while serving as education secretary pointed to irregularities.
“Imbestigahan nila 'yung laptop corruption scandal ng Department of Education. Nandun si Zaldy Co. At alam ko 'yun dahil gumawa kami ng sarili naming investigation sa loob ng Department of Education noong ako ay Department of Education Secretary, Sunwest ang contractor ng laptop doon sa DepEd,” Sara Duterte said.
The vice president also admitted that confidential funds were used to support efforts to gather evidence during the DepEd’s internal investigation.
“May I just say na merong confidential funds na pumunta doon sa paghahanap ng ebidensya sa investigation na ‘yun,” she added.
Duterte then questioned what she described as “selective investigations” into government corruption.
“Bakit specific yung pag-iimbestiga? Bakit hindi iniimbestigahan lahat ng corruption scandal? Bakit kinokontrol yung kwento sa korapsyon?... Kapag medyo tatamaan na ang Office of the President, biglang namamatay yung imbestigasyon,” Duterte said.
Her remarks came as ongoing corruption investigations continue to dominate political discussions. Duterte alleged that probes are sometimes “buried” when they begin to implicate higher offices.
The DepEd laptop procurement, first flagged by the Commission on Audit in 2022 for alleged overpricing, has already led the Office of the Ombudsman to file graft and falsification charges against several former DepEd and Procurement Service–DBM officials in July 2025.
Neither Co nor Sunwest have been named as respondents in that case.
Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation was among the contractors in the joint venture that supplied laptops to the DepEd, according to procurement records. The company has been previously linked to Co in public reports, though he has not been formally charged in connection with the procurement.
As of press time, Zaldy Co and Sunwest have not issued public statements responding to Duterte’s allegations.
“Imbestigahan nila 'yung laptop corruption scandal ng Department of Education. Nandun si Zaldy Co. At alam ko 'yun dahil gumawa kami ng sarili naming investigation sa loob ng Department of Education noong ako ay Department of Education Secretary, Sunwest ang contractor ng laptop doon sa DepEd,” Sara Duterte said.
The vice president also admitted that confidential funds were used to support efforts to gather evidence during the DepEd’s internal investigation.
“May I just say na merong confidential funds na pumunta doon sa paghahanap ng ebidensya sa investigation na ‘yun,” she added.
Duterte then questioned what she described as “selective investigations” into government corruption.
“Bakit specific yung pag-iimbestiga? Bakit hindi iniimbestigahan lahat ng corruption scandal? Bakit kinokontrol yung kwento sa korapsyon?... Kapag medyo tatamaan na ang Office of the President, biglang namamatay yung imbestigasyon,” Duterte said.
Her remarks came as ongoing corruption investigations continue to dominate political discussions. Duterte alleged that probes are sometimes “buried” when they begin to implicate higher offices.
The DepEd laptop procurement, first flagged by the Commission on Audit in 2022 for alleged overpricing, has already led the Office of the Ombudsman to file graft and falsification charges against several former DepEd and Procurement Service–DBM officials in July 2025.
Neither Co nor Sunwest have been named as respondents in that case.
Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation was among the contractors in the joint venture that supplied laptops to the DepEd, according to procurement records. The company has been previously linked to Co in public reports, though he has not been formally charged in connection with the procurement.
As of press time, Zaldy Co and Sunwest have not issued public statements responding to Duterte’s allegations.
Oct 14, 2025
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