Procedure for the procurement of consulting service - DOH

Executive Summary
The role of public procurement in any government worldwide has changed drastically over
the years. Once a matter exclusive only to experts has now become subject to public scrutiny.
TRANSPARENCY and GOOD GOVERNANCE – these were the principal motivating factors, among
others, which facilitated the legislation of comprehensive procurement law to govern the acquisition
of goods and services in the government. Anchored on the understanding that public procurement is
at the heart of delivering public service, sound procurement policies and procedure is fundamental
to any government operations.
In the Philippines, a comprehensive procurement act was enacted in 2003. On 26 January
2003, Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act took effect. It established a
systematic and standardized procurement process for all government agencies, bureaus,
departments, government-owned, and government-controlled corporations. The conduct of
procurement shall be governed by the principle of transparency in all procurement transactions, fair
and equitable competition among prospective bidders/suppliers, streamlined procurement process,
system of accountability for both procurement practitioners and prospective bidders/suppliers, and
public monitoring to ascertain compliance with the provisions of RA 9184, its Implementing Rules and
Regulations and other procurement-related governmental issuances. The procurement framework
covers the procurement process from planning to contract implementation and termination. A
procurement policy-making body referred to as the Government Procurement Policy Board was also
established by virtue of the same statute.
On 08 October 2003, the Implementing Rules and Regulations Part-A of RA 9184 was
approved. It covered only all domestically funded procurement but not those involving Foreign
Assisted Projects. Competitive bidding is established as the principal mode of procurement but the
existence of certain procurement conditions warrants the use of alternative mode of procurement
such as Negotiated Procurement, Shopping, Limited Source Bidding, Repeat Order, and Direct
Contracting. For those procurement projects undertaken through competitive bidding, procurement
tenders/invitations must be publicized in the prescribed media and locations. Submission of eligibility
documents forms a crucial role in the public bidding.
The GPPB, pursuant to its mandate to formulate and amend public procurement policies,
practices, rules and regulations, formulated the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations which
took effect on the 2 September 2009. The revised IRR now shall cover all domestically funded and
foreign assisted projects. Major amendments in the procurement guidelines include a more detailed
procurement planning align with the Agency’s budget allocation, the change of procurement
procedure for Infrastructure projects from two-stage bidding process to a single-stage, the
introduction of the two-envelope system, the additional instances or conditions for the use of
alternative mode of procurement such as Negotiated Procurement, increase threshold for the
conduct of Shopping and Small Value Procurement and longer procurement timelines, among others.
The Philippine Bidding Documents, standard forms, and the Generic Procurement Manual are
prepared and harmonized to reflect the amendment contained in the revised IRR of RA 9184. The
mandatory usage of the abovementioned documents will promote a systematized procurement
process, avoid confusion, and ultimately ensure transparency.
Since the agency is given the prerogative to customize the GPM to suit the needs, peculiarity,
nature, or complexity of its procurement by virtue of Section 6.2 of the revised IRR, the following
Manuals are being issued by the Department of Health to address procurement concerns of DOH
procurement practitioners: Volume I: Guidelines on the Establishment of Procurement Systems and
Organizations; Volume II: Guidelines on the Procurement Goods; Volume III: Guidelines on the
Procurement of Civil Works; and Volume IV: Guidelines on the Procurement of Consulting Services.