Procurement reforms

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Interior and Local Government and its attached agency, the Bureau of Fire Protection, has lately been showered with published open letters, coming from the Filipino Investors Society and local fire truck assembler Anos Research Marketing (AMR) addressed to President Benigno Simeon Aquino III assailing said agencies’ planned fire trucks procurement for 2010 and 2011.

The AMR’s move, we think, was in response to our effort to pursue reforms in our procurement system that is more advantageous to the government — the acquisition of reasonably-priced and of superior quality fire trucks. Said firm, which has benefited much from our previous procurement system, is now engaged in a well-funded campaign to vilify us and make it difficult for us to implement them.

From 2006 to 2010, the AMR, invoking the Filipino First Policy, virtually had the monopoly in the sale of their averagely priced P9 million per unit (auxillary pump-driven) fire trucks to the DILG-BFP. And the overall DILG-BFP fire truck procurements from AMR worth P1.7 billion were done mostly under a negotiated acquisition process. In our subsequent procurement, we will conduct this in an open or competitive bidding process.

Given the new specifications and approved budget for the contracts (ABC) for new power-take-off (PTO)-driven fire trucks, the projected total amount of savings, compared to past procurement systems, would be worth P495 million this year.

To quote BFP chief Director Rolando Bandilla, “the specific requirement of a PTO-driven fire pump does not bar or exclude local manufacturers from participating in the intended procurement…local manufacturers are not prevented from incorporating PTO-driven fire pump for their fire trucks.”

From a constructive point of view, the new PTO fire truck requirement would in the future open bidding to more local assemblers than just one exclusive supplier, giving them a level playing field by modifying their products to suit the end-user firemen’s needs.

While we adhere to the slogan Filipino First Policy under the Constitution, it neither gives exclusive right and privilege to Filipino manufacturers to be the sole bidder/supplier in the Philippine market and exclude their foreign entity counterpart.

Contrary to what they would like to project, the AMR’s fire trucks are not totally locally manufactured. They are just locally assembled imported truck components. The engines they use are reconditioned Izusu, mounted on a KIA Ceres truck and installed with a Kohler water pump engine, all of which are imported from Japan, Korea and Canada, respectively.

The BFP recommended the new specifications of the fire trucks after its field offices were consulted and made to comment on the several equipment issued to them, including fire trucks. Majority of the feedbacks indicated they prefer PTO-driven fire trucks compared to those with auxillary pumps.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo has given assurance to the public and other stakeholders that the fire trucks the DILG intends to procure are brand new, not reconditioned, even at a price of P6.2 million per unit.

The Secretary also debunked AMR’s claim that the government stands to pay at least P15 million each for the 76 units of imported brand new Rosenbauer fire trucks from Austria. Said fire truck is far more superior than any of BFP’s PTO trucks, and much more than the AMR trucks. If the grant is approved by the Austrian Government’s financing office, the Philippine government would only pay P7 million for each unit.

As he rightfully argues, the DILG, or any government agency for that matter, should accede to the preference of the end-users, the BFP firemen for instance, rather than to the wishes of certain manufacturers/dealers who want to lobby and impose their products to their clients, even if it is against the latter’s will.

As they say, one cannot always please everybody. And we expect that in our effort to pursue the government’s policy of “matuwid na landas,” there would always be opposition to it.