Best practices in procurement of gov’t supplies pressed
SEN. Juan Edgardo Sonny Angara presided over the continuation of the Committee on Finance hearing on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 on the proposed abolition of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) and several other measures seeking to amend Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).
Angara sought the best practices of the different government agencies when it comes to the procurement of their supplies, notwithstanding the complaints about the existing law.
The senator, however, observed that many agencies opted to go for the lowest bidder with lower quality of goods which are less durable or of lesser quality.
“We’re forced to buy those given the inflexibility in the law, which is obviously unintended,” Angara added.
Some of the highlights of the bills mandate a standardized warehousing and inventory system to be implemented across all government procurement bodies, including local government units; amend the negotiation procurement provision to mandate the submission of documentation demonstrating bidders’ financial capacity to meet the government’s requirements; grant the essential authority, opportunity, and flexibility to the leadership of the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to expedite the implementation of their modernization program; and call for the abolition of the PS-DBM.
