Amendment to procurement law improves efficiency, curb corruption
MANILA --- Senator Sonny Angara is confident the ongoing effort to amend the two decades-old Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) will result in greater efficiency in the implementation of projects, purchase of goods and supplies and reducing, if not eliminating avenues for corruption.
After three hearings and 10 technical working group meetings and months of consultations on the 13 bills dealing with the proposed amendments to Republic Act 9184 or the GPRA, Angara, as the chairman of the Committee on Finance, has sponsored the committee report on Senate Bill 2593, paving the way for the start of debates in plenary.
A priority measure identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, the amendments to the GPRA are expected to not only streamline the process of government procurement, but also to make it more effective.
“R.A. 9184, authored by my father, the late Senate President Edgardo Angara, was a landmark piece of legislation— recognized and lauded globally, including the World Bank. While it was able to institute key reforms in the government procurement process, over time individuals with evil intent have managed to find loopholes to exploit, costing the public billions that could have been spent on more productive endeavors,” Angara said.
The Senator clarified that the wastage was not entirely due to corruption but also the inefficiencies of the government entities and the procurement process as a whole.
“We have seen agencies whose procurement of basic supplies take an inordinate amount of time to complete. There is a lack of true competition among bidders and oftentimes agencies are unable to undertake the procurement of goods due to poor planning or they are tied up by the procedures under the law,” Angara said.