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A clearer inventory management for DepEd: Sen. Francis “Tol” N. Tolentino asks Education Sec. Leonor Briones if she is amenable to an agency-to-agency tie up with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for a clearer inventory management system of the assets of the Department of Education (DepEd). During a virtual hearing of Finance Subcommittee D Thursday, October 7, 2021, on the proposed 2022 budget of DepEd, Tolentino said his attention was called by the Commission on Audit (COA) report flagging the inventory system of DepEd. Tolentino said DOST and DICT could assist DepEd in establishing an “automated warehousing system, a cloud-based inventory system that would really pave the way for a clearer inventory management system that is not based on papers, ledgers, charts.” Briones welcomed Tolentino’s advice, admitting that managing inventory is a decades-old problem of the entire governmental system. “I'm not saying that we're trying to avoid the blame but we know that it is a problem. Inventory is a constant and persistent problem and we will be very happy for assistance and advice on this because we've already started it, and we want to work on it. Thank you for your advice,” Briones said. (Screen grab/ Senate PRIB)