Press Release
January 31, 2023

Tolentino files measure seeking abolition of PS-DBM, seeks more stringent screening of bidders for government projects

MANILA - Senator Francis 'Tol' N. Tolentino on Monday filed a bill seeking to abolish the Procurement Service of the Department of Management and Management (PS-DBM) amid a series of controversies hounding the said agency.

Under Tolentino's Senate Bill No. 1802, "all procurement of goods, including common-use supplies, materials and equipment, and infrastructure projects shall henceforth be undertaken by the respective departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, state universities and colleges, government-owned and / or -controlled corporations, and local government units" as the measure bats for the total dissolution of PS-DBM.

In his explanatory note, Tolentino - who chairs the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee - cited several observations found by the Commission on Audit (COA) in recent years, documenting how the bidding process became disadvantageous to the national government, especially when such procurement process was channeled through the said government agency.

Some of the notices of disallowances issued by state auditors include the unexpended/unutilized fund transfers totaling P1.976 billion from the Department of Health (DOH) intended for COVID-19 supplies and equipment which remained unremitted to the National Treasury despite the lapse of the validity periods, as well as the anomalous procurement of overpriced laptops public school teachers of the Department of Education (DepEd).

According to the senator, though PS-DBM operates on its own income and does not receive any allotment from the national government, "the agency has, for several years already, been tainted with controversies in the performance of its mandate."

Last week, Tolentino's Blue Ribbon Committee report on the laptop controversy recommended the abolition of the PS-DBM and urged government departments, agencies, offices, and other instrumentalities to refrain from delegating procurement tasks and to conduct their own procurement as an exercise of their fiduciary duty to be accountable for public funds appropriated for their respective offices.

Meanwhile, another measure filed by Tolentino seeks to amend Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and provide for more stringent criteria for the eligibility of bidders in the procurement of goods and infrastructure projects for government.

Under Senate Bill No. 1803, "the bids and awards committee (BAC), under special circumstances specified in the implementing rules and regulation (IRR), or its duly designated organic office shall determine the eligibility of prospective bidders for the procurement of Goods and Infrastructure Projects, based on the bidders' compliance with the eligibility requirements within the period set forth in the Invitation to Bid."

While allowed to join procurement projects, the present law according to Tolentino "does not provide specific requirements for the qualification of a joint venture as a bidder," other than the requirement under the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that the members of the joint venture must be governed by a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA).

"This was the case in the laptop procurement project conducted by the Procurement Service Department of Budget and Management for the Department of Education (DepEd) which was flagged by the Commission on Audit for being overpriced," Tolentino's explanatory note read.


PS-DBM pinabubuwag ni Tolentino

MANILA - Isang panukalang batas na layon tuluyang buwagin ang Procurement Service of the Department of Management and Management (PS-DBM) ang inihain kamakailan ni Senador Francis 'Tol' N. Tolentino sa likod ng sunod-sunod na kontrobersiya na kinasangkutan ng nabanggit na ahensya.

Sa ilalim ng Senate Bill No. 1802 na inihain ni Tolentino nitong Lunes ng hapon, nakasaad sa panukala na bukod sa tuluyang pagbuwag sa PS-DBM, laman din nito na ang lahat ng bidding para procurement of goods--kabilang na ang mga common-use supplies, materials and equipment, at maging ang mga infrastructure project--ay kanya-kanya ng gagawin ng bawat departamento, ahensya, at sangay ng pamahalaan.

"All procurement of goods, including common-use supplies, materials and equipment, and infrastructure projects shall henceforth be undertaken by the respective departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, state universities and colleges, government-owned and / or -controlled corporations, and local government units," saad ng SB 1802.

Sa kanyang explanatory note, isinaad ni Tolentino na chairman ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee ang mga natuklasan ng Commission on Audit sa nakalipas na mga taon, kung saan lumalabas kung paano naging agrabyado at dehado ang mga ahensya ng pamahalaan sa mga bidding na dinaan sa PS-DBM.

Kabilang sa mga pinuna dati ng mga state auditors ay ang "unexpended/unutilized" fund transfers na aabot sa P1.976 bilyon mula sa Department of Health na orihinal na nakalaan upang ipambili ng mga supplies at iba pang kagamit noong kasagsagan ng COVID-19 pandemic subalit hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin ibinabalik sa National Treasury kahit lipas na sa itinakdang petsa sa ilalim ng batas.

Pinuna rin ng COA ang maanomalyang pagbili ng Department of Education (DepEd) ng mga overpriced subalit outdated laptops para sa mga guro sa pampublikong paaralan--kung saan ang bidding process nito ay dumaan din sa nabanggit na kontrobersyal na ahensya.

"The agency has, for several years already, been tainted with controversies in the performance of its mandate," ani Tolentino.

Noong isang linggo, inirekomenda ng Blue Ribbon Committee sa isinumite nitong committee report ang tuluyang pagbuwag sa PS-DBM at hinimok ang bawat ahensya ng pamahalaan na magsagawa na lamang ng kanya-kayang hiwalay na mga bidding sa kanilang procurement process upang masiguro na bukod sa transparent ay may mga mananagot kung sakaling mabalot ng katiwalian ang proseso.

Samantala, isa pang hiwalay na panukalang batas ang inihain din ni Tolentino na layon naming susugan ang Republic Act No. 9184 o ang Government Procurement Reform Act upang magkaroon ng mas mahigpit na pamantayan ang kwalipikasyon ng mga bidders sa pamahalaan.

"The bids and awards committee (BAC), under special circumstances specified in the implementing rules and regulation (IRR), or its duly designated organic office shall determine the eligibility of prospective bidders for the procurement of Goods and Infrastructure Projects, based on the bidders' compliance with the eligibility requirements within the period set forth in the Invitation to Bid," laman ng Senate Bill 1803 na inihain ni Tolentino.

Giit ni Tolentino, bagamat pinapayagan ng batas ang isang 'joint venture' sa mga proyekto ng pamahalaan, walang malinaw na requisitos para sa kwalipikasyon ng isang 'joint venture' bilang isang bidder maliban na lamang sa nakasaad sa nakalatag na implementing rules and regulations (IRR)--kung saan ang mga kasali sa isang joint venture ay pinamamahalaan sa ilalim ng isang Joint Venture Agreement (JVA).

"This was the case in the laptop procurement project conducted by the Procurement Service Department of Budget and Management for the Department of Education (DepEd) which was flagged by the Commission on Audit for being overpriced," paliwanag Tolentino. (JCC)

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