We’ve heard too many horror stories about procurement in government. Opaque processes, favored bidders, and rigged specifications — resulting in delayed, poor quality, and badly implemented projects — have often accompanied the way our agencies and local government units selected their suppliers or contractors in delivering government services.
As a result, people don’t get the quality of projects and services they deserve. Public funds are wasted and get into the hands of unscrupulous groups or individuals, and our aspirations toward good governance remain just that, aspirations.
A new law, enacted just on July 20 and which will take effect on Aug. 13, seeks to change this.
Republic Act 12009 or the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), championed by Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman as the “biggest anti-graft and corruption law in modern history,” aims to promote transparency, competitiveness, efficiency, proportionality, accountability, public monitoring, procurement professionalization, and sustainability in government procurement.
According to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., it is “a testament to our unwavering commitment to build a government that truly serves the people by ensuring that every peso spent is accounted for and is used for the benefit of the Filipino people.”
This law was deemed a piece of priority legislation by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council because it includes key reforms aimed at putting an end to side deals, under-the-table agreements, uncompetitive behavior, corruption, and other criminal activities.
Before RA 12009, there was an existing procurement law enacted in 2003. But Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, needed to be reviewed and updated to become responsive to the many changes that have taken place since then and to address numerous gaps that still allowed irregularities in the procurement process.
There are several salient points and key features of the NGPA that make it more attuned to the demand of the present. For example, it includes an emphasis on value for money instead of mere low prices, introducing the “Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid” or MEARB as a new award criterion in addition to the existing Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid. This new award criterion frees agencies from the obligation of selecting the lowest-priced bid, which sometimes ends up with the government getting the cheapest items but with the lowest quality, allowing them to choose the best deals that would result in the most optimized benefit for the item or service being procured.
It strengthens the procurement planning process that needs to use market scoping and strategies for best results, the use of emerging technologies and innovative solutions. All procurement shall be conducted with sufficient planning and preparation to ensure sound procurement decisions. The process will also be streamlined from three months to just 60 days.
Newer factors like environmental, social, and economic factors, life cycle, gender parity, poverty alleviation, and marginalized/vulnerable sectors must also be considered as procurement principles and practices. In the old law, there was no mention whatsoever of sustainability.
The principles of open government and participatory procurement, as well as beneficial ownership information, must be included in procurement decisions to enhance transparency and accountability.
It tries to prevent conflict of interest in the procurement process through the disclosure of relations between the bidder and procuring heads of agencies. There will be improved public monitoring through civil society observer participation and use of video recording for all procurement-related conferences.
Finally, procurement practitioners should be professionalized and developed into a skilled and competent workforce driven only by excellence and integrity.
The enactment of the NGPA is expected to significantly improve the execution of government projects. Its enactment is anticipated to foster trust among stakeholders, including local and international investors, by demonstrating the government’s commitment to ethical governance practices and to build a more transparent, accountable, and sustainable procurement system, ultimately benefiting the Filipino people.
However, the test of the new law — as is the tests of all laws — is its conscientious implementation. We at Stratbase hold the view that attempts at attracting and keeping investments and inducing technology-driven economic growth will not happen unless transparency in government transactions is normalized. The people have seen far too many instances of public officials promising to serve them and putting their interests above all, and yet, behind closed doors, rigging the bidding process so that it favors them and their conspirators.
This may not completely eliminate irregularities in the procurement process as there will always be devious minds who will continue to look for loopholes that they can exploit despite the safeguards established by the law.
This is where the watchful eyes of the other sectors must come to enforce transparency. It is good that the new law already provides additional means by which the public can observe and monitor the bidding process. Irregularities, after all, happen in the dark, under the veil of secrecy.
The law will take effect soon and we look forward to the consultative process that will ensue for the crafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations. Here, the actual situations for the operationalization of the law will be discussed by those who actually know the technical and operational dynamics of government procurement. We are confident that under the leadership of Budget Secretary Pangandaman, the full implementation of this law will finally help curb corruption and institute good governance practices at all levels of national and local government, and according to its spirit and intent.
Victor Andres “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.
