Seminar Helps Participants Understand Seriousness of Procurement Plan Preparation  

To help officials, employees and students of the Tarlac State University prepare their annual project procurement management plans, the TSU Procurement Unit conducted last March 6 a seminar on the provisions of Republic Act 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act, and its implementing rules and regulations.

Dr. Glenard T. Madriaga, Vice President for Administration and Finance, said in his welcome remarks that the preparation of the annual PPMP had “always been taken for granted.”

But this should not be the case, he said, emphasizing the importance of being “responsible and serious” in the preparation of the PPMP.

Procurement unit head Elena May Teofilo, who served as the resource speaker, discussed the three activities in the procurement of goods: procurement planning, preparing the bidding documents, and pre-procurement conference.

Plans for procurement, she said, should be “linked to budget.”

This means that “(a)ll procurement should be within the approved budget of the Procuring Entity and should be meticulously and judiciously planned by the Procuring Entity concerned,” according to RA 9184.

In preparing the bidding documents, she said, “one has to ensure that these accurately and comprehensively reflect the main elements of the PPMP.”

She also explained the importance of the pre-procurement conference.

“The pre-procurement conference is the forum where officials of the university involved in the project meet to discuss all aspects of the project to determine the university’s readiness to undertake the procurement,” she said.

Mr. Rico Tomas, chair of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) for Goods, said attendance by end-users in the pre-procurement conference “is a must.”

“Absence means the request will be removed,” he added.

Teofilo explained that while the main method of procurement should be through competitive bidding the university may resort to alternative methods provided that doing so would “promote economy and efficiency.”

She identified these methods as limited source bidding (selective bidding), direct contracting (single source procurement), repeat order, shopping, and negotiated procurement.

Dr. Jonathan A. Gabriel, Director of the university’s Internal Audit Services Office, said officials and employees should take the preparation of PPMP “very seriously” because “it has impact on the operations of the university.”.

“Overstocking of supplies and materials, for instance, if discovered by the Commission on Audit, can be considered as a violation of the law,” he said.

If not planned properly, procurement can lead to wastage of resources, he said.

He said serious preparation of PPMP means making “reasonable estimates” of future consumption of supplies and materials.

It also entails diligently making a record of the utilization of supplies and materials, which can then serve as basis in estimating future monthly consumption, he said.

Procurement seminars, he added, are useful because they can help officials and employees realize why and how they should treat the preparation of PPMP seriously. [OPAI]