Marcos signs laws on procurement reform, anti-financial scams

MANILA, Philippines — Two days before his third State of the Nation Address, President Marcos signed into law measures that seek to address loopholes in the government’s procurement system and to protect consumers from financial cybercrimes.

“We have just signed into law two new bills that will move us closer to attaining a strong, more responsive and efficient bureaucracy and to establishing safeguards for the financial rights and welfare of every Filipino,” President Marcos said during the signing ceremony yesterday at Malacañang.

The New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) or Republic Act (RA) 12009 aims to plug loopholes in the government procurement system, prevent wastage and ensure better services by curbing unlawful practices and eliminating opportunities for corruption.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman welcomed the reforms to the decades-old Government Procurement Reform Act or RA 9184, which she describes as a “transformative reform” that will modernize and augment public procurement processes by addressing existing loopholes and inefficiencies.

Pangandaman said the procurement reform will “enhance the implementation of projects and the procurement of goods and supplies, ensuring better public service delivery for the Filipino people.”

RA 12009 cuts the period of action on procurement from 90 days to 60 days from the opening of bids to the awarding of the contract. It also standardizes procurement forms and institutionalizes electronic procurement.

The law also provides for 11 modalities of procurement, offering “greater flexibility” in acquiring the best goods and services.

The new procurement modes are competitive bidding, limited source bidding, competitive dialogue, unsolicited offer with bid matching, direct contracting, direct acquisition, repeat order, small value procurement, negotiated procurement, direct sales and direct procurement for science, technology and innovation.

The President noted that the updated procurement law introduces a concept called “most economically advantageous responsive bid,” which he described as an attempt to consider the best quantitative and qualitative economic value of any proposal as an alternative practice from choosing just the cheapest product.

He added that the inclusion of sustainable and green public procurement practices in the measure demonstrates the Philippines’ commitment to addressing the worsening pollution and challenges of climate change.

The law also requires the conduct of strategic procurement planning to increase the success rates of procurement transactions.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) or RA 12010 seeks to punish perpetrators of financial cybercrimes and slap stiffer penalties for illegal acts committed under the Revised Penal Code.

This includes online selling and investment scams, phishing and other fraudulent schemes. It defines and penalizes money muling activities, social engineering schemes, economic sabotage and other offenses involving financial accounts.

The law also allows the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to probe and inquire into financial accounts that may be involved in the commission of prohibited acts and apply for cybercrime warrants.

It also authorizes them to implement orders and seek the assistance of law enforcers like the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation in the probing of cases.

The central bank is also exempted from bank secrecy and data privacy laws to collect enough information about the commission of prohibited acts.

Marcos said the new law requires financial institutions to implement safeguards in protecting citizens’ financial accounts.

He added that this law is essential today as cybercriminals use technology to defraud Filipinos, causing financial losses and losses in trust to financial institutions.

“It will protect our people from falling prey to perpetrators who target their banks and e-wallet accounts,” he stressed.

The AFASA requires BSP-supervised institutions to adopt adequate risk and fraud management systems to ensure that their clients’ financial accounts are protected.

Concerned state agencies, banks and covered financial institutions, the private sector and other stakeholders are required to come up with a cooperative mechanism to ensure effective prosecution of cases and enforcement of the law. — Arlyn Servanez, Keisha Ta-asan, Sheila Crisostomo, Marc Jayson Cayabyab