Government procurement bill okayed

The House of Representatives passed on third and final reading yesterday a bill that would streamline the procurement process in the bureaucracy to minimize corruption.

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said the measure will make the procurement system "simple and adaptable to the latest technological advances and extend equal opportunity to a widest possible base of private suppliers and contractors."

"We hope it will reduce areas of graft and corruption," he said.

The bill’s approval, De Venecia said, sends a strong signal on the determination of Congress and the Arroyo administration to curb corruption, especially in government purchases and capital expenditures.

He cited previous studies showing that between P20 billion and P30 billion is lost due to a procurement system that gives opportunity to corrupt bureaucrats and suppliers to further fatten their bank account.

The procurement bill is a consolidation of measures authored by Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. (Lakas, Camarines Sur), who is appropriations committee chairman; Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II and Rep. Carlos Cojuangco (NPC, Negros Occidental).

"Corruption in the government bidding process has been so pervasive that it has become SOP (standard operating procedure)," said Gonzales.

The procurement bill seeks the imposition of a prison term of six years and 15 years for fraud and conspiracy, connivance and collusion between public officials and suppliers or contractors.

It requires a five-year warranty period for public works projects.

The proposed procurement law allows electronic bidding to promote transparency and greater competition, and to shorten the bidding process.