7/27/2019 MAP- Remarks on Government Procurement for Sept. 11 Presscon - Revised

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JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE on Legislation Policy Briefof Philippine Business Groups and

Joint Foreign Chambers

11 September 2013, 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon, JV Del Rosario Room, 4/F, AIM Conference CenterBenavidez corner Trasierra Streets, Legaspi Village, Makati City

Draft Remarks

by MAP President MEL SALAZARas of 9 September 2013, 3:30 PM

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen!

As the President of the Management Association of the Philippines, I am pleased to be partof todays Presscon on the Priority Legislative Agenda of the Philippine Business Groups and theJoint Foreign Chambers.

The P-Noy government won on the promise of clean and efficient government. One of theareas where corruption is pervasive is in the procurement of government supplies and the award ofbig contracts.

The Government Procurement Reform Act or RA 9184 has been in effect since 2003.Inspite of it, however, charges of corruption continue to be labeled at almost all governmentprocurements, including those of Congress.

We in the MAP believe that it is necessary to review RA 9184 to eliminate anomalousbiddings and awards of government contracts. Amendments and improvements are needed to closeloopholes and opportunities for manipulating bids and awards in favor of preferred contractors andsuppliers.

There have been a number of contracts and projects that have been tagged as anomalousor corrupt by whistle blowers and the media. It will be a very helpful eye-opener if thesecontracts and projects are scrutinized, analyzed and reviewed in order to highlight the weaknessesin the procurement process which were taken advantage of by the proponents, inspite of RA 9184.

There is a need to identify and study the specific areas in RA 9184 that need to be amended

to remove the pitfalls that give unscrupulous government officials and their preferredcontractors/and suppliers that edge over other bidders.

The Philippine Business Groups and the Joint Foreign Chambers can certainly help identifythe weaknesses in the procurement process.

We in the MAP would like to push for amendments of RA 9184 that will be able to do thefollowing:

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7/27/2019 MAP- Remarks on Government Procurement for Sept. 11 Presscon - Revised

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1. Improve the procurement process so that government officials can implement itcorrectly and watch out for flaws in the system that should be avoided and corrected.

2. Enable government officials to identify potentially anomalous bids and projects.

3. Design a reporting system that will encourage government officials to reportanomalous transactions.

If it will take some time to amend RA 9184, the government can benefit immediately if theywould consider giving way to some actions they can implement to improve procurementundertaking. An instruction or amendment to the implementing rules and regulation to the existingprocurement law should be done.

The government could present a procurement transformation roadmap, not just amendingthe law, particularly for high-value spend.

RA 9184 amendment should involve the business sector and most importantly, procurementexperts. This is where MAP and other associations can add value.

We need to do a current-state analysis of the Procurement reforms, not only the law itself,including assessing people, process, enablers and governance where measurements can bereported. A line-up of best practices in public procurement can be done but we do not see thiscoming within the term of P-Noy government if the government does not act quickly.

Thank you for this opportunity for MAP to be involved in pushing a very important legislativeagenda!

Good morning!

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