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PRESIDENT Arroyo has geared up the Government
Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) to be an effective
“tripwire” against corruption through a scheme that
would help it cultivate a culture of good procurement
practices in government.
The
President placed the GPPB in the frontlines of the
government’s antigraft campaign through Administrative
Order 193, dated August 22, 2007, ordering the body to
pursue a strategy that includes recognizing best
practices and whistle blowers and including a government
procurement subject in state universities and colleges.
She said
that raising the “procurement quotient” of government
officials “will deter wastage of taxpayers’ money and
lead to value-for-money purchases by the country’s
biggest consumer of goods and services.”
The GPPB
would be guided by its “bible,” the Government
Procurement Reform Act (GPRA), which the President wants
to be “popularized among the public, and internalized by
civil servants.”
Through
this, she said, “ignorance of its provisions would no
longer be invoked as a reason or the commission of
malfeasance,” adding that there are government agencies
“getting large amounts under the Millennium Challenge
Account” of the US government, which aids developing
countries to improve governance.
The
President ordered the GPPB to develop an “Oscars” for
procurement tentatively tagged as the Ulirang Mamimili
awards to recognize institutions, individuals and
initiatives that have excelled in the area of
procurement.
She said
the GPPB can also launch the Procurement Integrity by
Truthful Officials (PITO) awards or “literally a golden
whistle, a whistle-blower award, for vigilant
procurement officers.”
The
President directed the GPPB to organize seminars for
local governments that can be packaged and
institutionalized as Procurement Policy Education for
LGUs. This can include an information package and a
series of seminars for LGU officials involved in
procurement.
The GPPB
will also wage an Anti-Lemon Law campaign, centering on
the warranty cover on government-purchased goods, and
will design a “Seal of Good Procurement” or a
“GPRA-Compliant” icon that can be printed in goods up
for mass distribution.
A
textbook earning the seal would have on its cover, aside
from the Good Procurement Seal, a short note saying that
the GPRA has allowed the reduced cost of textbooks and
as such, “more books for schools and great savings for
taxpayers like you,” the President said in AO 193.
She
directed the GPPB to popularize the GPRA by publishing
pamphlets like “Bidding for Beginners,” and establishing
a news service that will send out copyright-waived
weekly dispatches on procurement issues, among other
media campaigns.
The GPPB
will also seek the help of the academe to provide
technical assistance for a syllabus for “Government
Procurement 101,” to be included in public
administration courses offered by state universities and
colleges.
AO 193
also provides for the inclusion of questions on GPRA in
all Civil Service and CESO eligibility examinations, to
measure procurement quotient.
The
President released P20 million to the GPPB to carry out
the directives. |
