Pangandaman lauds Congress as New Gov’t Procurement Act inches closer to becoming a law

DBM Sec. Amenah “Mina” F. Pangandaman

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah “Mina” F. Pangandaman lauds the leadership and members of Congress for the ratification of the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) today, May 22, 2024.

The Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the bicameral report to reconcile the disagreeing provisions of Senate Bill No. 2593 and House Bill No. 9648, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.

“The ratification of the NGPA is a testament to the Congress’ commitment to serve the best interest of the Filipino people and to heed the President’s call to enact a new procurement law that is responsive to the needs of the times. As the NGPA inches closer to becoming a law, we are set to implement a transformative reform that will promote greater efficiency in the implementation of projects and purchase of goods and supplies,” Secretary Pangandaman expressed.

“Our endless thanks to the honorable members of the Senate, from then Senate President Migz Zubiri up to its present leadership under Sen. Francis Escudero. We also thank and appreciate the unwavering commitment of Senator Sonny Angara, who authored and sponsored the bill. To our esteemed lawmakers in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Martin Romualdez, and of course to House Committee on Revision of Laws Chairperson Edward Maceda, we are truly grateful. This significant measure will further ensure efficient public spending while adopting international best practices – a huge step that aligns with President Bongbong Marcos’ vision of Bagong Pilipinas,” she added.

The NGPA, considered a priority by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council, seeks to amend the decades-old Republic Act No. 9184. The proposed new GPRA aims to promote transparency, competitiveness, efficiency, proportionality, accountability, public monitoring, procurement professionalization, and sustainability in government procurement.

In their speeches during the bicameral conference committee, Rep. Maceda and Sen. Angara exchanged commendations for the latest achievement made by both houses to amend the law.

“Thank you for this landmark law and we would like to thank our Senate counterparts. The Speaker is very happy, and I am sure that the President will be happy with this law. We hope that with this bill, we will have better obligation rate, disbursement rate of all our agencies that will redound to better GDP, lower inflation, and even to the 1% improvement of our GDP,” Rep. Maceda said.

“Indeed this is a landmark law, and the House did a fantastic work before the bill was sent to the Senate, and coordination was very smooth and we would like to acknowledge and thank the House panel for that. And also, I’d like to thank my colleagues also for the hard work they have put in and their staff we would like to thank the committee staff who worked overtime to finalize the version of the Senate,” Sen. Angara responded.

NGPA Salient Features

The NGPA introduces new procurement modes, including competitive bidding, limited source bidding, competitive dialogue; unsolicited offer with bid matching; direct contracting; direct acquisition; repeat order; small value procurement; negotiated procurement; direct sales; and direct procurement for science, technology and innovation.

It will also adopt the principle of sustainable procurement to achieve value for money while reducing adverse environmental impact. Green Public Procurement approach requires procuring entities to procure goods, infrastructure projects, and consulting services with reduced environmental impact through their lifecycle.

The proposed measure also promotes Inclusive Procurement Program. This provides equal opportunities to the vulnerable and marginalized sectors, as well as microenterprises, social enterprises, and startups. Procuring Entities shall encourage active participation of the registered sectors in all procurement activities, giving weight to inclusivity in programs involving gender and ethnic equity, poverty reduction and respect to fundamental labor standards.

To scale up professionalization of government procurement practitioners, the Government Procurement Policy Board shall provide sustained training, capacity-building, and support to stakeholders in the government procurement process.

Moreover, the NGPA creates a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to oversee the implementation of the Act.