Pangandaman also highlighted that the President has already expressed his support for most of the provisions, specifically the simplification of the eligibility process and the eMarketplace which will speed up the procurement process.
“The President was very supportive. He provided inputs to simplify procurement in LGUs. He explained aling mga areas sila nahihirapan. Naiintindihan niya po ang ating mga LGUs dahil dyan po siya nanggaling. Gusto rin po niya na ma-develop at ma-institutionalize ang eMarketplace,” Secretary Pangandaman said.
Secretary Pangandaman said that they will come up with the specific procurement law amendments per provisions in two weeks.
“There has already been a rapid transformation in technology over the past two decades and the pandemic propelled the urgency for digital transactions in the country,” the Budget Secretary emphasized.
Proposed GPRA amendments
The proposed amendments revolve around Innovative Procurement Methods, Efficiency in the Procurement Process, Procurement Planning and Budgeting, Digitalization and Innovation, Sustainable and Green Procurement, and Miscellaneous Provisions.
Meanwhile, PS-DBM Executive Director Dennis Santiago said that in order to address the issue in the lowest calculated and responsive bid criteria, which do not fully satisfy the requirements of the Procuring Entity as to its needs, and purely quantitative selection misses out on important factors that could benefit the agency, it was proposed to include Most Economically Advantageous Tender/Bid in Section 34, Article VIII (Receipt and Opening of Bids), as an alternative to lowest calculated and responsive bid.
"Lagi hong nababanggit na lowest calculated responsive bid. Doon daw tayo palagi sa lowest, pero minsan, hindi naman maganda. So we're looking at an area wherein we can improve the evaluation methodology. We now call it the Most Economically Advantageous Bid or the MEAB," Director Santiago said.
To tackle the possible delays in the procurement process because of suits filed by losing bidders, a provision prohibiting the issuance of a TRO or Preliminary Mandatory Injunction, except by the Supreme Court, against the government in procurement contracts for Goods and Services, was also proposed.
Meanwhile, an additional provision on Simplified Eligibility Requirements was proposed to allow PEs to require the submission of the PhilGEPS Certificate of Registration and Membership instead of the eligibility documents. It will also simplify the complicated eligibility process caused by the number of eligibility documents required for submission.
The DBM also advocated adding a Section on how prices of goods and services, vis-à-vis Technical Specifications, should be surveyed or monitored to arrive at the ABC, subject to the issuance of specific guidelines by the GPPB to resolve the issues on supposedly overpriced goods and services primarily caused by inadequate or poor processes in price monitoring and the lack of safeguards prescribed by law.
The addition of a Section on Sustainable and Green Public Procurement was proposed, pursuant to the government’s need to prioritize environmentally friendly and socially responsible procurement practices such as sustainable sourcing and green procurement. The said provision also serves as a concession to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals that include institutionalization and implementation of Sustainable/Green Public Procurement.
Enhancing procurement planning
Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Executive Director Rowena Candice Ruiz underlined that procurement planning should be enhanced and strategic to avoid failure in bidding.
"We will be enhancing procurement planning. Wala pong procurement na magagawa kung wala po tayong tamang pagpaplano. However po sa ating existing batas, isang provision lamang po ang mayroon sa planning. We want to make planning also strategic," Executive Director Ruiz expressed.
Ruiz advocated for the professionalization of procurement officials and the early procurement activity which will boost the procurement process.
Secretary Pangandaman earlier stated that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) would have been 5.3% if at least P65 billion of the P170 billion funds available were disbursed, stressing the importance of utilization/spending among agencies.
“Government spending is very important. So it is important that agencies use the available budget/resources allocated to them,” the Budget Secretary emphasized.
The DBM is conducting a review of the various areas of the Budget Execution phase for the Fiscal Year 2024 as low agency utilization rate/spending is seen to affect the country’s economic growth.
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