‘Lopez explained that the basic principle in government procurement of supplies is outlined under RA 1984, which is just based on lowest cost.’
THERE is elementary sense in the advice of Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez to the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to buy locally manufactured products instead of procuring government supplies using the lowest bidder rule.
Lopez’ suggestion supports the initial policy pronouncement of returning National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief Arsenio Balisacan that he wanted the Marcos administration to strengthen the manufacturing sector to hasten the alleviation of poverty.
Balisacan said that “the lessons of recent history is if you have a robust manufacturing sector in the early stages of your development, poverty reduction is so fast and is likely sustainable.”
President Duterte has been vocal against the lowest-bidder rule, pointing out its inadequacies; on several occasions, he called out the Commission on Audit for its rigidity in implementing such rule.
With both Lopez and the yet-to-be-named secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, along with all incoming officials, rooting for a robust economy and more jobs for Filipinos, it makes sense to revisit the overall procurement system of the government. Lopez explained that the basic principle in government procurement of supplies is outlined under RA 1984, which is just based on lowest cost. He said the next administration could do some refinement to the lowest bidder rule.
He, however, said that the preferential treatment policy for locally manufactured products may not necessarily apply to all buying activities, but there should be certain products, for which only local producers can participate in the bidding. For these products, Lopez said, prices can be benchmarked from prices abroad to ensure competitive pricing.
The DTI chief’s idea is to source out some products needed by the government only from local producers, thereby creating local jobs. For instance, he said, once the Philippines has attained a production capacity for personal protective equipment (PPE), future requirements can be sourced from the local PPE producers only.
Other select government procurement where bidding can be participated in only by local producers include uniforms for the military, boots and gear. Perhaps without intending to, Secretary Lopez again opened the festering wound called Pharmally. There were local producers of PPE units, face masks, etc. that were willing to incur production losses just to provide the country with these products, but the Duterte government — particularly the Department of Budget and Management — chose to import at scandalously high prices. The Senate Blue Ribbon committee report documenting this scandal was not even signed by enough senators to merit discussion on the floor.
The next Marcos administration will start its term with scarce funds, and yet scarcer sources of tax revenues given the looming recession, and so it stands to reason that government procurement flaws should be resolved.
