Senate bill seeks limitations on powers of designated OICs

FILE PHOTO Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino (Albert Calvelo/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis Tolentino has filed a bill seeking to bar officials designated as officer-in-charge (OIC) of a government agency from entering into long-term agreements or high-value contracts on behalf of the government.

Tolentino filed Senate Bill No. 2434 after the Senate blue ribbon committee’s ongoing investigation into the government’s pandemic-related purchases “revealed gaps in the law, not only in the procurement process but also in the powers and authority that a person designated as [OIC] may exercise.”

Tolentino’s bill seeks to amend the provisions of Executive Order No. 292 or the Administrative Code of 1987 on OICs which provides that appointments in civil service positions may either be permanent or temporary.

In filing the bill, the senator said his measure aims to expressly define and limit the powers and functions of designated OICs.

During the ongoing probe in the Senate, the multi-billion contracts signed by then Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) OIC Christopher Lao were put into question.

Under Tolentino’s bill, the powers of OICs are confined only to functions of administration and ensuring that the office continues its usual activities.

The bill also limits the designation of the OIC to not more than six months to prevent temporary appointees from holding the position for a long period of time to ensure efficiency in government operations.

“Since OICs are only designated to ensure that the day-to-day operations of the office will not be hampered, and they lack the authority to exercise discretionary powers, it is incumbent upon the appointing authority to fill the position with permanent appointments as soon as possible,” Tolentino said in the bill’s explanatory note.

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