Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. (File photo by /NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — A bill that seeks to establish a Green Public Procurement (GPP) Program to ensure that products purchased by the government will have minimal damage to the environment has been approved by a House of Representatives panel.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the House Committee on sustainable development goals (SDG) approved House Bill No. 1272 or the Green Public Procurement Act authored by Camarines Sur lawmakers Rep. LRay Villafuerte, Rep. Miguel Luis Villafuerte, Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata, and Bicol Saro party-list Rep. Nicolas Enciso VIII.
If enacted, the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) would be the lead agency in implementing the GPP Program. GPBB would be tasked to ensure that the “concept of sustainability in the procurement activities of the government” is observed.
But despite the panel eventually approving the proposed measure, other members of the committee, particularly Camarines Sur 3rd District Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr., sought clarification on the bills’ definition of terms.
During the deliberation of the bill, Bordado asked Horibata on the definition of the Green Public Procurement in layman’s explanation for the interests of the public watching the live stream.
“I commend the authors of these highly laudable bill but since we are being live streamed. May I request one of the authors, Representative Horibata, to come up with a layman’s definition of the Green Public Procurement Program?” Bordado asked.
In response, Horibata who defended the bill said that this would require government offices to purchase products that are ecologically-friendly, to avoid problems with the environment in the future.
“As both public and private organization may increasingly aware the needs of reduce the impact of goods, products, and as well as services of the environment, and this Act, the government procurement carries the potential of stimulating the environment for the production of ecological friendly products by settling the examples of the responsible consumers and environmentally friendly procurement,” Horibata said.
Committee chairperson and Cibac party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva then asked GPPB Executive Director Rowena Candice Ruiz, to simplify the definition of terms.
Ruiz said the GPP oversees and applies the environmental impact of items that will be bought by the government. She added that the bill will also affect how the government will choose the price of items according to what is more efficient.
“So when you talk about Green Public Procurement, tinitignan po natin ano ba ‘yung epekto ng bibilhin natin sa environment. Environmental impact, una po ‘yan. Pangalawa, Green Public Procurement also talks about ano ba ‘yung kabuuang gastusin natin sa pagbili. Imbes na tinitignan lang natin ‘yung unang presyo ng babayaran natin,” Ruiz said.
(So when you talk about Green Public Procurement, we would look at the impact of the products that we would buy. Environmental impact, first of all. Secondly, Green Public Procurement also talks about what is the total amount that we would spend, instead of just looking at the prices that we would pay initially.)
Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose Alvarez then suggested implementing and revising the Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act by means of House Bill No. 1272, while emphasizing the need to clarify the technical terms that define the GPP Program.
Alvarez said amending R.A. No. 9184 might be necessary since the law mandates government agencies to buy, most of the time, the most inexpensive material or product during a public bidding.
“Republic Act 9184 mandates us to buy the less expensive material for the use of the government. But less is not always the best. We will couple the purchasing of government departments with the view that in the future even if there is a difference in value provided that it is green in the long run then it shall be given preference,” Alvarez explained.
“So, Mr. Chair, I wish to include or ask the Principal Authors of this bill to seek a revision of Republic Act 9184 in order to adopt the green buying of materials,” Alvarez added.
Alvarez also suggested and stressed that before approving the bill, the committee should have a technical conference to fully understand the proposed measure’s intentions.
“Before approving this measure, we should [in] this representation, Mr. Chair, request a technical conference in order to dissect the bill into its entirety because we need to go thoroughly ahead, and if we just approve this bill in generic terms, it’s very difficult for our government personalities to implement these,” Alvarez said.
“I suggest, Mr. Chair, that before we approve, we should not be in a hurry, anyway this bill is very laudable. Let us try to make it more applicable not only national but local and even in the rural sense,” Alvarez added.
With reports from Kristelle Anne Razon, trainee
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