Role of Oversight Bodies and Civil Society Organizations in Philippine Public Procurement Gladys Honey F. Selosa ANSA-EAP

Procurement Process GPRA Sec. 38. The procurement process from the opening of bids up to the award of contract shall not exceed three (3) months, or a shorter period to be determined by the procuring entity concerned.

Public Procurement is the acquisition of RIGHT product, at the RIGHT cost, RIGHT quantity, RIGHT quality, delivered at the RIGHT time in the RIGHT place to the RIGHT users or beneficiaries.

What is Oversight? Management by overseeing the performance or operation of a certain program, project or activity

Operations National Government Agencies Head of the Procuring entity Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Local Government Units (Sub-National) Local Chief Executives Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Civil Society Organizations / Beneficiaries / Business Groups Oversight Agencies OMB GPPB COA DBM CSC

Oversight Agencies  DBM – Department of Budget and Management  CSC – Civil Service Commission  GPPB – Government Procurement Policy Board  COA – Commission Audit  OMB – Ombudsman

The roles and responsibilities of different oversight bodies in Philippine Public Procurement

Department of Budget and Management Organization Chart Attached Agency GPPB Office of the Secretary Internal Audit Service Source: dbm.gov.ph

Composition of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB)  Chairman - Secretary of the DBM  Alternate Chairman - Director-General of NEDA  Members - Secretaries of the DPWH, DOF, DTI, DOH, DND, DepEd, DILG, DOST, DOTC and DOE or their duly authorized representatives, and a representative from the private sector to be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the GPPB.  Resource Persons – COA and DOJ representatives

Department of Budget and Management (DBM)  General oversight particularly on budget matters. (IRR 63.1)  Ensuring that Procurement is linked to the Public Finance Management systems.  Monitor the issuance of the contracts vs the approved budget. Executive Order 55 – automation of Financial Management Systems Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) – a reporting system that captures budget utilization and identifies variances

Operations National Government Agencies Head of the Procuring entity Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Local Government Units (Sub-National) Local Chief Executives Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Civil Society Organizations / Beneficiaries / Business Groups Oversight Agencies OMB GPPB COA DBM CSC

Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) 1. The Policy authority on Public Procurement (a) regulate procurement processes, (b) formulate policy, rules and regulations,

Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) 2. Monitor of implementation of GPRA a. Monitor submission of Annual Procurement Plans of the Procuring Entities b. Monitor submission of Procurement Monitoring Reports of Observers c. Update Blacklisted Suppliers and Constructors d. Maintain a list of CSOs and list of observers e. Monitor the performance of constructors and post the result of Constructors Performance Evaluation Summary

Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) 3. Evaluate of the effectiveness of RA 9184 and recommend any amendments thereto, as may be necessary. Agency Procurement Compliance and Performance Indicator (APCPI) System The standard procurement monitoring, assessment and evaluation tool that determines the procuring entities strengths and weaknesses Source: gppb.gov.ph

4. Maintain and promote the use of e- procurement to attain efficiency, economy and accountability in the procurement process, and 5. Maintain capacity building by improving the professionalism of the procurement function within the civil services. Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB)

6. Ensure that there’s an efficient grievance mechanism  Reduces risks in procurement  Provide avenue to air one’s concern  Promote constructive engagement between stakeholders  Ensure that complaints are reviewed properly  Ensure that complaints are acted on

Operations National Government Agencies Head of the Procuring entity Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Local Government Units (Sub-National) Local Chief Executives Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Civil Society Organizations / Beneficiaries / Business Groups Oversight Agencies OMB GPPB COA DBM CSC

Civil Service Commission (CSC)  The authority to evaluate all government personnel  Regularly conduct performance evaluation of procurement personnel and ensure that the system is linked to the competency standards and qualification requirements that will be established under the professionalization program and approved by the CSC.

Operations National Government Agencies Head of the Procuring entity Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Local Government Units (Sub-National) Local Chief Executives Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Civil Society Organizations / Beneficiaries / Business Groups Oversight Agencies OMB GPPB COA DBM CSC

Commission on Audit (COA)  The external auditor of Public Procurement  Ensure that an internal audit of procurement activities are being done by the resident auditors  Monitor and enforce the audit findings, compliance to the Procurement law, and anti- corruption laws  Issue Guidelines for the internal audit of procurement processes, and train auditors on this manual.  Conduct forensic audit trainings

Commission on Audit (COA)  Compliance Audit – validate the compliance of procuring entities with the requirements of the Procurement law.  Citizen Participatory Audit – a value for money audit includes the process of evaluating if the procurement being audited followed the Procurement Law

Operations National Government Agencies Head of the Procuring entity Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Local Government Units (Sub-National) Local Chief Executives Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Civil Society Organizations / Beneficiaries / Business Groups Oversight Agencies OMB GPPB COA DBM CSC

Office of the Ombudsman  The lead in anti-graft and corruption activities  Has database of procurement-related cases, including status of the case (e.g. filed, resolved, on-going, etc)  developed and conduct a special training programs on fraud detection for purposes of prosecution

Operations National Government Agencies Head of the Procuring entity Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Local Government Units (Sub-National) Local Chief Executives Bids and Awards Committee Technical working group BAC Secretariat Budget and Supply Officers End Users Civil Society Organizations / Beneficiaries / Business Groups Oversight Agencies OMB GPPB COA DBM CSC

Roles and responsibilities of Civil Society Organizations in Public Procurement

Why the need for CSOs to have an oversight role in procurement?  Sometimes oversight agencies cannot fulfill their roles as oversight agencies  They can complement oversight bodies

Promote demand Information Disclosure Demystificatio n Dissemination Collective action Source:ansa-sa

Collective action Freedom of Information Awareness campaign Rights education Media Programs

Mediate demand (a) creation and strengthening of avenues for feedback of citizens and civil society to public officials; (b) encouraging consultation of these actors in decision making and public actions of executive agencies; as well as (c) formal and informal mechanisms for dispute resolution through initiatives such as interface meetings between citizens and public officials, grievance redress, and ombudsmen.

Response to demand  innovations in service delivery,  response- based performance incentives, or  participatory action planning.  Example: Promoting / Sustaining participatory forums, Creative Compacts like Integrity Pacts

Monitoring to inform demand  participatory monitoring (using citizen feedback surveys of government performance, social audits, media investigations, etc.);  independent budget and policy analysis; and  formal oversight mechanisms (parliamentary committees, vigilance commissions, etc.).

Textbook Count Project  As of 2006, the DepED had realized a total of Php2.6 billion in savings, with an average reduction of 50 percent in the price of textbooks that allowed achievement of a textbook-to-student ratio of 1:1.  One textbook that was being purchased for an average of PhP came down to PhP45.00 in competitive bidding.

Impact of Reform Measures  Bidding time has been cut in half, and transparency is attained through compliance with the requirement of posting advertisement in the PhilGEPS.  Alignment with international practice improved, and the national procurement system became more widely used following the increase in the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) thresholds to US$ 1 Million for goods and US$ 5 Million for works. Source: 2008 CPAR

Summary The role of the different oversight groups (government or citizens) in better public procurement performance are Checking compliance with procurement procedures Monitoring the procurement system Initiate public procurement policy Implementation of operation pf Public procurement system

In the past, government has the sole responsibility to govern. Today, governance is the responsibility of government, business, and civil society.