By Rowena F. Caronan
BEFORE the year is over, the government would have been done shopping for computers, assault rifles, ballistic helmets, medical and farm equipment, and office supplies, and have a building or two constructed. Its shopping list budget P4.5 billion.
The Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) has enrolled 79 items all together worth this amount in its priority list for the second half of 2015.
As of March 2, 2015, the priority list enrolls 35 procuring entities, which have requested the PS-DBM to undertake the procurement on their behalf. The items on the list will be made available for bidding shortly, according to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System or PhilGEPS.
Majority of the requests were made in 2014 and 2015, but a small number, as far back as 2012 and 2013.
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By value, the computer supplies and programs requested by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from 2013 to 2015 top the list with P1.1 billion.
The P980-million National Institutes of Health building project requested by the University of the Philippines in 2014 came in second. The state university also wants to purchase IT equipment and generator set.
The Philippine National Police lands on third place. It had wanted since 2014 to buy arms supplies worth P780.5 million. Its request in 2012 for the purchase of “various IT equipment” valued at P5 million is also part of its request.
PCIJ Table by Rowena Caronan
According to Vincent Cañares of the PS-DBM Secretariat, many government agencies tap the PS-DBM because of either the nature of the procurement or some technical constraints of procuring entities.
Some of these constraints include, he said, the repeated declaration of a failed bidding because bidders could not meet the technical requirements or the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) is too high.
The PS-DBM is in charge of a centralized procurement of common-use items or materials and equipment used in the daily operations of government agencies.
“Common-use items” in government lingo include office equipment, paper products, and computer, electrical, janitorial, and writing supplies.
PCIJ Table by Rowena Caronan
But the PS-DBM could also purchase non-common items upon request of any procuring entity or a government agency authorized to procure. Such service is provided under Section 53.6 of the amended Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9184. The provision allows procuring entities that lack proficiency or capacity to undertake procurement to request other government agencies to conduct a public bidding on their behalf.
Alternatively, procuring entities may also “recruit and hire consultants or procurement agents to assist them directly and/or train their staff in the management of the procurement function.” - PCIJ, March 2015