I would like to welcome everyone to this event, a step that further strengthens procurement reforms in the Philippines.

It began 6 years ago, with the passage of our public procurement law, which we all know as Republic Act 9184. Since then, it has been heralded as a landmark piece of legislation that could bring our procurement systems up to international standards. It is strict, comprehensive and transparent.

But even then, we realized that the reforms we sought could not be complete without implementing rules that truly reflects this…that is fair, market oriented and comprehensive.

This revised IRR seeks to bring us one step further to having a more efficient procurement system for the government. Where it was lacking before, this IRR incorporates definitive rules on foreign funded purchases.

Now, all bids carried out by the government are subject, first and foremost, to the provisions of RA 9184.  If our development partners would want to use their own procurement guidelines, they must explain why and clearly set this out in the loan agreement.

For 6 years the government has surged ahead with procurement reform. The Revised IRR also contains lessons learned from these years of implementation. For instance, the revised IRR now prescribes less documentary requirements during bidding to encourage more competition and clearer rules on use of the alternative methods of procurement.

I would thus like to thank all the procurement practitioners who participated in the consultations conducted throughout the Philippines.  The revised IRR is a product of your hard work. 

Lastly, we recognize that challenges still remain. For one, we urge our partners in civil society to maintain the same vigilance they have shown in the past. This will help ensure that the law and its IRR are properly implemented by the entire government.

Next, we urge the international community to take the inevitable next step: accept and use our system without exceptions.  Our procurement system has the same objective as yours:  to ensure a more transparent, streamlined, and competitive procurement process.

Today’s signing of the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the Government Procurement Reform Act marks another important step in moving procurement reforms even further.

This event is equally important because it underscores the dedication of Government towards public sector reforms.

We congratulate Secretary Andaya, the distinguished members of the Government Procurement Policy Board, and we thank our development partners for their assistance and all those who have contributed in the formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations.

You have kept your commitment to finalize and approve the Implementing Rules and Regulations in time for the Philippines Development Forum sometime this year.

With this new IRR the Government will further strengthen public procurement reforms which will translate into more efficient use of our revenues to allow us to provide more vital public services to our people.

Secretary Andaya has put forward a challenge to all stakeholders. We must continue to bring the reforms to greater heights.

As public servants it is our duty to surge on with reforms. No matter how small, if we all do our part, undoubtedly we can push and continue to push our country forward.

As co-chair of the Philippines Development Forum (PDF), we wish to congratulate the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) for completing the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (Revised IRR) of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA), which consolidated IRR-A for domestically-funded procurement and IRR-B for foreign-funded procurement into one set of implementing rules and regulations. Coming up with the Revised IRR surpassed the commitment of the Government, through the GPPB, in the 2008 Philippine Development Forum where only an IRR-B for foreign-funded projects was promised to be institutionalized in partnership with development partners. This achievement shows that deepening procurement reform is clearly a priority of Government in improving efficiency and accountability in the use of public money, and we applaud the PDF Sub-working Group On Procurement which worked on this initiative.

It is worth noting that the Revised IRR was a product of comprehensive multi-stakeholder consultations, including the private sector, civil society organizations, and bilateral and multilateral development partners. The process is in pursuance to the 2003 Paris Declaration on harmonization and alignment for aid effectiveness. In this effort, we wish to commend also the GPPB’s Technical Support Office for a job well done.

We are pleased to note that the Revised IRR is acceptable for use in national competitive bidding for contracts funded by our institutions subject only to some exceptions which will be incorporated in the loan or grant agreements covering foreign-funded projects. The notable improvements in the Revised IRR will deepen and strengthen the implementation and enforcement of the GPRA and clarify the application of procurement guidelines in international or executive agreements, including at the local government level.

We look forward to the speedy dissemination and communication of the Revised IRR and the effective and consistent implementation and enforcement of these rules at both the national and local government levels.

Bert Hofman
Country Director, Philippines and Representative of the World Bank as the Co-Chair of the Philippines Development Forum