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Sunday, March 18, 2007
Witnesses needed in fight vs overpricing, fraud
CEBU CITY -- Observers from outside government have been invited to attend procurement meetings in local governments but with their seeming lack of interest, they lose their chance to stop irregularities in public transactions.
Cebu City Administrator Francisco Fernandez, who sits as chairman of the bids and awards committee (BAC), said two private sector groups act as observers during BAC meetings to ensure that bidding procedures are complied with.
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Civil society groups and the public have also been invited and are welcome to observe during BAC meetings.
But response from these groups is not very good, he lamented.
"We have observers from the private sector who are supposed to attend meetings. Unfortunately, they do not come; they are always absent. Even the public is welcome but no one attends, it's always only the buyers and suppliers who are there," Fernandez told Sun.Star Cebu.
In Cebu City, the private sector observers for the procurement of goods and services are the representatives of the Barrio Luz Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers sits as the observer group for BAC meetings and biddings on infrastructure.
In instances where an observer attends the meetings, their participation is often limited to ensuring that bidding procedures are complied with, Fernandez continued.
"We're too concerned about the technicalities, if the procedures are followed. More importantly, we should pay attention to the substance. I'd like for them to compare and analyze the price and quality of the goods, for example, and not just the process," he said.
Fernandez is hopeful, though, that the controversy on the alleged overpricing of streetlamps will stir interest among the public and encourage private sector groups to play their role.
"It's good to hear the reaction of the people on the lamppost controversy. At least they are now aware because this could have been prevented if the bidding was transparent. Unfortunately, the response of the private and public sectors is not very good," Fernandez said.
Lapu-Lapu City also has a representative from the private sector in its BAC, but the person is almost always absent.
BAC chairman Teodulo Ybaez, who is also the city administrator, said the representative comes from the nongovernment office of the Chinese-Filipino community.
But Ybaez said his absence is more regular than his presence.
The inclusion of civil society oversight is one of the innovations introduced by the Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act 9184), enacted in 2003.
But "while this process has been legislated, it is not yet functioning as intended in practice, with insufficient members of the public putting themselves forward to observe tendering decisions," said Nigel Thornton of the sustainable development consultancy firm Agulhas, in a paper on procurement reform in the Philippines.
Thornton's paper was prepared for the 2006 Asian Regional Forum on Aid Effectiveness, held in Manila last October.
According to guidelines prepared by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), each government agency's BAC is required to invite three observers: a representative from the Commission on Audit (COA), one from a private sector group "whose discipline is relevant to the procurement at hand" and one from a nongovernment organization (NGO).
"The attendance of observers ensures the transparency of the procurement process. They represent the public, the taxpayers who are interested in seeing to it that procurement laws are observed and irregularities are averted," the GPPB guidelines state.
The observers are tasked with preparing a procurement observation report, where they can point out whether the BAC has complied with legal requirements and identify areas where the bidding process can be improved.
Their report becomes part of the official record of bidding and the audit trail.
They may also submit a copy of that report to the ombudsman or the COA, in case the BAC has failed to follow bidding procedures.
Observers are supposed to have access to all stages of the procurement process, including the pre-bid conference, opening of bids and special meetings of the BAC. They are also entitled to copies of procurement documents, such as the minutes of BAC meetings and the post-qualification summary report.
However, selected observers must also have no financial interest, whether direct or indirect, in the contract to be bid out, the GPPB guidelines state.
Civil society's role in procurement reform is illustrated by the creation of Procurement Watch, an NGO that helped draft and push for the procurement reform law. It is now monitoring how well that law has been enforced.
But while Procurement Watch plays an oversight function, "it has taken the view that NGOs at the local level can better perform oversight of particular transactions," Thornton said in his paper.
He pointed out that changes in procurement, as in any other reform process, unfold in three stages: first, putting the laws, procedures and regulations in place; second, implementing the new system; and third, the public's identification of the change.
"For the Philippines, the new framework is in the process of rolling out across government. The current challenge is ensuring it is implemented effectively, particularly in the local government units," Thornton added.
In a phone interview Saturday, Fernandez urged private sector groups and ordinary citizens to attend any of the BAC meetings every Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon for goods and services, and Friday mornings for infrastructure. (Linette C. Ramos/ Isolde D. Amante with Oscar C. Pineda of Sun.Star Cebu)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (March 18, 2007 issue)
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