PEACE TALKS
Exec. Director Ruby U. Alvarez

“We are fighting two enemies in the war against terrorism,” states DND Assistant Secretary Lamberto Sillona during his welcome remarks, “the terrorists themselves, and the GPPB.”

While warm chuckles and laughter greeted this statement, it cannot be denied that many in the military and police continue to believe that the very stringent requirements of RA 9184 and its IRR-A have caused delay and problems in the procurement of essential military and police goods.

The GPPB resolved to hold a special consultation for military and police to precisely address these concerns.

And true to their military training, the participants were armed with position papers and policy recommendations.  To do justice to these reports, we have uploaded the matrix of issues and concerns raised by the DND, AFP, and the PNP for your perusal.

I would like to commend both the military and police for their willingness to sit down with the GPPB and discuss how their concerns can be addressed without foregoing the principles of public procurement laid down by RA 9184.

In fact, they both hosted the event.  DND provided the venue and snacks, while the PNP served us lunch.  A few names also need to be mentioned:  Atty. Nelson S. Victorino, PSSupt Florante P. Leano, PSSupt Job Nolan D. Antonio, and Janice “Atchie” Chua.  We could not have done it without your assistance.