Director General Rowena Candice M. Ruiz has formally institutionalized the participation of the Commission on Audit (COA) in Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) meetings, which started in 2021, through a reform introduced under the New Government Procurement Act (Republic Act No. 12009), strengthening collaboration between the country’s procurement and audit authorities.
Recognizing the vital role of COA in ensuring sound governance and the consistent application of procurement and auditing rules, Director General Ruiz deliberately introduced a provision in the New Government Procurement Act to formalize the participation of the COA in GPPB meetings. Through Section 91.2 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA No. 12009, the GPPB is expressly authorized to invite COA and other relevant government agencies as resource persons, institutionalizing a practice that began in 2021 and has since proven valuable in the Board’s policy deliberations.
Pursuant to this provision, the GPPB, under the leadership of Department of Budget and Management Acting Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon, has formally invited the COA to participate in its meetings and continue providing its audit perspective as the government advances the implementation of the New Government Procurement Act.
The GPPB emphasized that COA’s insights will be instrumental in promoting the harmonized interpretation and implementation of procurement and auditing rules as procuring entities transition to the new legal framework.
The formalization of COA’s participation builds upon a longstanding institutional partnership between the GPPB and the Commission in advancing procurement reforms. Under Director General Ruiz’s leadership, COA has continued to provide valuable technical and audit guidance in the development of responsive procurement policies, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic when it supported the formulation of policies on electronic procurement activities, online payments, the recognition of electronic receipts, and other digital procurement processes.
These initiatives enabled government agencies to sustain procurement operations while upholding accountability and compliance with auditing standards.
