The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is set to present to Congress in two weeks its proposed amendments to Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, in a bid to further enhance transparency within the government as well as improve public spending.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, in a briefing after the sectoral Cabinet meeting in Malacañang yesterday, said President Marcos Jr. has approved their proposed amendments.
Pangandaman said the proposed amendment would address underspending in government offices, which contributed to the slow economic growth of the country in the second quarter of the year.
“If we will look at the data in the first semester of this year, there is a negative P170.5 billion, meaning, the national government agencies were not able to disburse P170 billion of available funds that’s why the contribution of the government spending to our GDP was reduced,” she said.
The DBM had issued a circular earlier asking the different agencies to come up with a budget catch up plan.
Pangandman, meanwhile, said their team will still do the “technical writing” of the proposed amendments per provisions to the Government Procurement Act before it is presented to Congress.
“Probably, give us two weeks to come up with the specific amendments per provision and yes our President agreed on our amendments,” she said.
Dennis Santiago, executive director of the Procurement Service-DBM (PS-DBM), said among the amendments to the law that were recommended was the simplification of the procurement process by making it less tedious and simplifying the eligibility requirement of bidders; allowing direct acquisition for low value procurements; and allowing unsolicited proposal.
Santiago said another measure the government is looking at is the establishment of an e-market place for government procurements which is similar to how online shopping providers operate.
He said they still have to firm up the details and ensure that only quality products and services that would benefit the government agencies are provided in the e-market place.
Rowena Candice Ruiz, executive director of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) , said they are also proposing improving the procurement planning by doing early procurement activities, and professionalizing the procurement officers.
Santiago said based on their assessments, among the causes of the underspending of the budget was due to failed biddings and the tedious procurement process.
Pangandaman, meanwhile, said the average budget absorptive capacity of the different government departments or agencies was around 32 percent.
She said the top five agencies with low budget absorptive capacity, as of June 30, are: were the Department of Information and Communications (DICT) with an obligation rate of 9.2 percent; Commission on Elections (Comelec) with 26.1 percent; Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) with 28.9 percent; Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) with 34.2 percent; and Department of (DOE) with 34.3 percent.
Pangandaman said special allotment orders (SAROs) have been released for the specific programs and projects of these agencies but most of which have not been obligated or spent yet.
She said apart from the failed bidding, other reasons for the underspending is the still uncashed checks made by the agencies to pay obligations, the lower interests rates, and the delays in the implementation of social protection programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program (4Ps) of the DSWD and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
DSWD previously said they are validating more than 1.4 million intended 4Ps beneficiaries and will complete the process by September and start the distribution then, while DOLE had said that their underspending was in the first quarter and have already caught up with their budget obligations.
