Making A Difference for Good

Governance Reforms: Case of

Procurement Reform in the Philippines
and the Role of PWI
Ramon Clarete
Procurement Watch Inc.

Understanding what works better for

governance reforms
o Towards the late 1990s, reformers
saw the need to:
o focus anti-corruption reform efforts in a
specific but strategic area;
o organize a coalition of reform-minded
stakeholders; and
o tilt the balance of political forces to the
side of good governance.

Why public procurement reform

o One major source of corruption
o Weak institutions governing public
procurement
o PD 1594 (a 1978 law) governing public
works procurement needed revisiting by late
1990s.
o Rules governing procurement of goods were
malleable.
o Various public procurement laws and
regulations lacked rationalization.

Reform coalition
o Existing coalition had no links to civil society
organizations (CSOs).
o
o
o

the DBM's Budget Reform Task Force

other government agencies
development partners through their TA teams

o Increasing need of mobilizing such CSOs for

an effective implementation of the
procurement reform law once it is passed.
o Technical assistance team given the task of
organizing a CSO focused on procurement.

Procurement Watch
o Procurement Watch Inc (PWI) was formed in February
2001 originally:
o to help train government agencies on the new public
procurement law and regulations.
o to monitor the implementation of the procurement law.

o However, the procurement reform had to be legally

enabled yet at this time.
o After the Estrada impeachment-related public
indignation against corruption had died down with the
resignation of former Pres. Estrada, enabling legally the
proposed GPRA became more dificult.
o PWI then took up the added role of advocating for the
passage of the procurement reform law.

PWIs advocacy campaign

o Organization of a broad-based
coalition of stakeholders including
CSOs for procurement reform
o Media campaign to raise the buy in
of the majority of the population
media for procurement reform

Coalition of CSOs and stakeholders

o Anti-corruption NGOs under the Transparency
and Accountability Network (TAN)
o Manifesto of TAN in favor of procurement reform.

o Student organizations (Walang Ku-corrupt)

o Students showed up in a committee hearing to
demonstrate their support

o Church
o CBCP not only supported the passage of the law, it
called for participation of third parties as observers
in public bidding to ensure transparency.

Coalition of CSOs and stakeholders

o Private sector
o Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries
threw in their support for the passage of the
GPRA.
o Even the Philippine Construction Association
(PCA) turned out in favor of a more transparent
and accountable bidding of public works.

o Local government officials

o League of Provinces issued a letter to the two
houses of Congress supporting the passage of
the procurement reform law.

Coalition of CSOs and stakeholders:

What did PWI do
o Approached through widely
respected champions of the reform
the various stakeholder
representatives
o Conducted meetings with
stakeholders to discuss the proposed
procurement law and how it
contributes to curbing corruption.
o Conducted training programs for the
student leaders on the proposed law

Media Campaign: Objectives

o The majority of uncommitted
stakeholders are informed about the
net benefits of the proposed
procurement reform.
o Issues and concerns on the reform
raised by opponents are publicly
addressed.
o Mis-information about procurement
reform is corrected publicly.

Media Campaign: Components

o Targeted use of AM radio;
o Participation in TV talk shows;
o Regular news releases in print media;
and
o Advertising campaign.

AM Radio
o Effective media vehicle to reach out to the lower
income rural and urban residents
o PWI organized briefings of selected AM radio
announcers on procurement reform.
o Developed simple but accurate message:
Procurement reform is effective in curbing corruption.

o Radio announcers discussed the reform over the

air not just with supporters but more importantly
with policymakers opposed to the reform.
o Effective in locking in support of policy makers
for the reform.

TV Talk Shows
o These real time discussions on the reform targeted
the middle and higher income segments of the
population.
o Participants included particularly legislators in favor
and against the reform; as well as reform advocates
from government and CSOs including PWI
participated as well including PWI.
o Advocates saw in these the opportunity to discuss
the net benefits of the reform and to address
legitimate concerns of stakeholders.
o With PWI support, a TV documentary on the
procurement reform was produced and aired.

Print Media
o PWI organized series of two-day large
conferences (in association with large
organizations, e.g. PAGBA and AGAP) on the
reform all over the country.
o Events like these attract news reporters
particularly as they dwelt on the controversial
issue of corruption.
o Smaller workshops were also organized and
news reporters were invited to attend.
o From these events, one got steady stream of
news releases on the reform all over the country.

Advertising campaign
o PWI developed a brand, i.e. a simple
but effective motif to link procurement
reform to ending corruption.
o The brand was disseminated in
streamers, and give aways like stickers,
fans, T-shirts and screensavers.
o Effective in associating the reform with
the widely supported vision of getting
rid of corruption in the government.

Brand of Procurement Reform

Post-enactment Activities
o PWI helped out in providing comments
to various drafts of the implementing
rules and regulations.
o Conducted training of BACs on the law
and the IRRs.
o Participated in public bidding as third
party observers upon invitation of BACs.
o Trained CSOs in order for them to enable
them to expand the supply of observers.

Dissemination of Success Stories

o PWI published success stories about the
procurement reforms: how the government
was able to save from the reform.
o Yes, Pigs can fly too!
o Contributors included:
o Bangsamoro Development Agency
o Concerned Citizens of Abra or Good Governance
o Ateneo School of Government, Goverment-Watch
o PWI; AND
o Rural Enterprise Assistance Center

Book
Cover

DEEM
o PWI developed a tool to facilitate the
detection of over-pricing in public
procurement of goods.
o Differential Expenditure Efficiency
Measurement (DEEM) tool allows PWI
to compare the price paid by a
government agency for the procured
good with its fair market price.

Bantay Eskwela
o PWI organized stakeholders of public
schools (parents associations) in order to
monitor the implementation of the school
project.
o It trained these stakeholders about the
project and arranged that they be
recognized as third party monitors.
o Deviations from the design and
specifications of the school buildings were
then documented and reported.

Role of development partners

o Development partners USAID, World Bank, ADB, EU,
and others provided moral and financial support to
CSOs in undertaking their respective advocacy for
reform and monitoring its implementation.
o Procurement reform enabled these donors to see
how to make their assistance for development more
effective.
o Partnering with CSOs and supporting their
respective activities in support of the reform as
what transpired in procurement reform became
institutionalized technical assistance activities of
development partners.

Thank you.