As a primary aspect of the Philippine Government’s public procurement reform agenda, the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) was established by virtue of Republic Act No. 9184 (R.A. 9184) as an independent inter-agency body that is impartial, transparent and effective, with private sector representation. As established in Section 63 of R.A. 9184, the GPPB shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
- To protect national interest in all matters affecting public procurement, having due regard to the country’s regional and international obligations;
- To formulate and amend public procurement policies, rules and regulations, and amend, whenever necessary, the implementing rules and regulations Part A (IRR-A);
- To prepare a generic procurement manual and standard bidding forms for procurement;
- To ensure the proper implementation by the procuring entities of the Act, its IRR-A and all other relevant rules and regulations pertaining to public procurement;
- To establish a sustainable training program to develop the capacity of Government procurement officers and employees, and to ensure the conduct of regular procurement training programs by the procuring entities; and
- To conduct an annual review of the effectiveness of the Act and recommend any amendments thereto, as may be necessary.
In addition, the GPPB has absorbed all the powers, functions, and responsibilities of the Procurement Policy Board that was created under Executive Order (EO) 359, series of 1989. As such, the GPPB promulgates rules and regulations to carry out the policy statement and intent of the said EO, which serve as the basis for the procurement operation of the Procurement Service (PS) of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and other government agencies. In the formulation of these rules and regulations, the GPPB may, in its discretion, consult the Chairman, Commission on Audit, on matters falling under the functional jurisdiction of the Commission. The GPPB conducts periodic evaluation of the effectiveness of the centralized procurement system as carried out by the Procurement Service in terms of economy and efficiency measured against the following criteria:
- comparable prices in the open market;
- compliance with established standards and quality as formulated by the Bureau of Product Standards of the Department of Trade and Industry; and
- meeting delivery time standards to client agencies.
For the above purpose, the GPPB may commission the undertaking of an independent survey to accomplish this task. (Section 63, RA 9184; Sections 63.4, IRR)
Moreover, all functions related to procurement policy-making of the Infrastructure Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority Board are transferred to the GPPB. (Section 63, RA 9184; Sections 63.4, IRR)
The GPPB is under the administrative supervision of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for general oversight and for budgeting purposes. (Section 63, RA 9184; Sections 63.1, IRR)