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Ensuring quality in gov't purchases: Sen. Win Gatchalian seeks recommendations from procurement officials and experts on ways to ensure quality in the purchases made by the government. During the Committee on Finance's hearing on bills amending the Government Procurement Reform Act, Gatchalian lamented how suppliers employ the "race to the bottom" strategy during bidding processes to secure government contracts. "We end up buying low-quality goods, then buying it again the next year...as opposed to buying high-quality good that can last for a very long time," Gatchalian said on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. (Joseph B. Vidal/Senate PRIB)