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Third Regular Session

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Introduced by Honorable Evelina G. Escudero

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to enhance and expedite the government procurement process, amending
for the purpose Republic Act (RA) No. 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement
Reform Act (GPRA).”

RA 9184 was passed into law to modernize, standardize and streamline the procurement
process. It was envisioned to be a powerful tool to promote transparency and competition,
eradicate graft and corruption, and lessen the delays in the procurement process. However,
despite the reforms and the recognition of GPRA by multilateral institutions such as the World
Bank as a world class legislation, several issues continue to plague the government procurement
system!

‘The World Bank identified the combination of weak budget allocation process, intricate
and non-transparent budget execution and the predominance of patron-client relationships in
politics and the bureaucracy as factors that facilitate corruption in government procurement?
Other problems of the present system that need to be addressed are lack of organic procurement
body in government agencies, low vendor tumout because bid contracts are not posted ahead of
time and absence of contract administration mechanism within the solicitation system.

This bill aims to further improve the government procurement system by providing
additional measures that will shorten the present bureaucratic intricacies of the system and
expediting the procurement process through mandatory inclusion of the procurement plan and
purchase priority in the annual development plan, inclusion of the list requirements in the
posting and publication of the invitation to bid, upgrading of G-EPS and establishment of
electronic bidding process. In addition, this bill prescribes specific periods for the
accomplishment of and compliance with procurement processes and practices to prevent delays
in the procurement proceedings. This proposed measure also intends to strengthen and advance
transparency by enhancing the role of the observers in the procurement process.

Policy Brief (Senate Economic Planning Office) August 2008.
“bid.



Likewise, the proposed measure will enable the Government Procurement Policy Board
to upgrade the electronic bidding system that will allow electronic payment to Bids and Awards
Committee. This innovation will further hasten the procurement process and enhance
transparency.

In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this bill is eamestly sought.

EVELINA G. ESCUDERO



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Sixteenth Congress
Third Regular Session
6246

HOUSE BILL NO. _

Introduced by Honorable Evelina G. Escudero

AN ACT
ENHANCING AND EXPEDITING THE GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT PROCESS,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9184, OTHERWISE KNOWN
AS THE “GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT”

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION. 1. Section 7 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9184 is hereby amended to read as

follows:

“SEC. 7. Procurement Planning and Budgeting Linkage. ~ All
procurement should be within the approved budget of the Procuring Entity and
should be meticulously and judiciously planned by the Procuring Entity concemed.
Consistent with government fiscal discipline measures, only those considered
crucial to the efficient discharge of governmental functions shall be included in the

Annual Procurement Plan to be specified in the IRR.

THE ANNUAL PROCUREMENT PLAN OF THE NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES SHALL CONFORM WITH THE NATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND, IN THE CASE OF THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT UNIT, WITH THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

THE PROCURING ENTITIES SHALL MAKE A LIST OF THEIR
PURCHASE PRIORITY WHICH SHALL BE INCLUDED IN THEIR
ANNUAL PROCUREMENT PLAN AND BUDGET.”


SEC. 2. Section 13 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“SEC. 13. Observers. — To enhance the transparency of the process, the
BAC shall, in all stages of the procurement process, invite, in addition to the
representative of the Commission on Audit, at least two (2) observers to sit in its
proceedings, one (1) from a duly recognized private group in a sector or discipline
relevant to the procurement at hand, and the other from a non-government
organization: Provided, however, That they do not have any direct or indirect
interest in the contract to be bid out. The observers should be duly registered with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, MEMBERS IN GOOD STANDING
OF THE SECTOR, DISCIPLINE OR NON-GOVERNMENT
ORGANIZATION THEY REPRESENT AS DULY CERTIFIED BY THE
HEAD OF THE SECTOR, DISCIPLINE OR ORGANIZATION TO WHICH
THEY BELONG, and should meet the criteria for observers as set forth in the IRR.

EACH OBSERVER SHALL MAKE A SEPARATE REPORT ON THE
CONDUCT OF THE PUBLIC BIDDING, ITS PROCEDURES,
CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS, IF ANY, WHICH SHALL BE
SUBMITTED TO THE PROCURING ENTITY, THE GOVERNMENT
PROCUREMENT POLICY BOARD (GPPB) AND THE COMMISSION ON
AUDIT.

IN CASE OF UNAVAILABILITY OF THE OBSERVERS FROM
THE NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION OR PRIVATE SECTOR,
THE GPPB SHALL PROVIDE QUALIFIED OBSERVERS TO THE BAC.
FOR THIS PURPOSE, THE GPPB SHALL MAINTAIN A REGISTRY OF
PROCUREMENT PROFESSIONALS QUALIFIED TO BE OBSERVERS TO.
THE BAC.

THE ABSENCE OF ANY OF THE OBSERVERS AND
CORRESPONDING REPORTS SHALL NULLIFY THE BIDDING
PROCESS.”

SEC. 3. Section 21 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 21. Advertising and Contents of the Invitation to Bid. — In line with
the principle of transparency and competitiveness, all Invitations to Bid for
contracts under competitive bidding shall BE POSTED ON THE ENTITY’S


WEBSITE AND be advertised by the procuring entity in such manner and for such
length of time as may be necessary under the circumstances, in order to ensure the
widest possible dissemination thereof. { such as, but not limited to posting, | THE
INVITATION TO BID, INCLUDING THE LIST OF REQUIREMENTS,
CONDITIONS, CONTACT DETAILS AND REQUIRED TAX
CLEARANCES AND LICENSES, SHALL BE POSTED in the Procuring
Entity’s premises, in newspapers of general circulation, the G-EPS and the website
of the Procuring Entity[, if available | AT LEAST SIXTY DAYS BEFORE
DEADLINE FOR SUMBISSION OF BIDS. ‘The details and mechanies of
implementation shall be provided in the IRR to be promulgated under this Act.

XXX XXX XXx.”
SEC. 4. Section 22 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec, 22. Pre-bid Conference. — At least one pre-bid conference shall be
conducted for each procurement, unless otherwise provided in the IRR. Subject to
the approval of the BAC, a pre-bid conference may also be conducted upon the
written request of any prospective bidder.

The pre-bid conference(s) shall be held within THIRTY (0) DAYS
AFTER THE LAST DAY OF POSTING OF THE INVITATION TO BID
AND WITHIN a reasonable period before the deadline for receipt of bids to allow
prospective bidders to adequately prepare their bids, which shall be specified in the
IRR.”

SEC. 5. Section 25 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec, 25. Submission and Receipt of Bids— A bid shall have two (2)
components, namely the technical and financial components which should be in
separate sealed envelopes, and which shall be submitted simultaneously. ‘The bids
shall be received by the BAC on such date, time and place specified in the invitation
to bid, The deadline for the receipt of bids shall be fixed by the BAC, giving it
sufficient time to complete the bidding process and giving the prospective bidders
sufficient time to study and prepare their bids. The deadline shall also consider the
urgency of the procurement involved.

Bids submitted after the deadline shall not be accepted.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section and Section 26 of this Act,

the GPPB may prescribe innovative procedures for the submission, receipt and


opening of bids through the G-EPS. THE GPPB SHALL UPGRADE THE
ELECTRONIC BIDDING SYSTEM IN THE G-EPS THAT
FACILITATES THE SUBMISSION OF BIDS, QUOTATION, DOCUMENTS,
AND PAYMENT TO THE BAC THROUGH AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE.
THE GPPB MAY PRESCRIBE OTHER INNOVATIVE PROCEDURES
THAT EXPEDITE THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS.”

SEC. 6. Section 29 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 29. Bid Opening. ~ The BAC shall publicly open all bids at the time,
date and place specified in the bidding documents WHICH SHALL NOT BE
MORE THAN FIVE (5) DAYS AFTER THE DEADLINE OF THE
SUBMISSION OF THE BIDS. The minutes of the bid opening shall be made
available to the public upon written request and payment of a specified fee.”

SEC. 7. Section 35 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Sec. 35. Failure of Bidding. — xxx

XXX

Under any of the above instances, the contract shall be re-advertised and re-
bid. The BAC shall observe the same process and set the new periods according to
the same rules followed during the first bidding. After the second failed bidding,
however, the BAC may resort to negotiated procurement as provided for in Section
53 of this Act.

THE BAC OF THE PROCURING ENTITY SHALL INFORM IN
WRITING THE GPPB OF THE FAILURE OF BIDDING AND THE
REASON THEREOF. THE BAC OF THE PROCURING ENTITY SHALL
SECURE THE APPROVAL OF GPPB FOR RE-BIDDING OR
NEGOTIATED PROCUREMENT.”

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety (90) days from the
approval of this Act, the Government Procurement Policy Board shall issue the necessary rules
and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. The implementing rules and

regulations shall be published in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders. rules and regulations and other
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Issuances, or part thereof; which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 10. Separability Clause. — lf any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional
or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 11. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,