Eight officials of the National Printing Office have been ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman. The eight were all members of the NPO’s bids and awards committee, and were dismissed over what the Ombudsman deemed as irregularities in the bidding to subcontract government printing deals in September 2008.
The dismissal of the NPO officials came on the heels of the suspension of members of another bidding committee, this time of the Commission on Elections, for the award of a multimillion-peso contract to supply ballot secrecy folders for use in the general elections in May. The award of the contract was cancelled by Comelec Chairman Jose Melo, who considered the folders overpriced and unnecessary.
Complaints from losing bidders usually lead to the cancellation of anomalous deals and the initiation of administrative and criminal proceedings. Seeing those engaged in irregular deals penalized can discourage similar practices. But a better deterrent is the streamlining of bidding and award procedures in all government agencies, in compliance with requirements in government procurement laws.
Complicated rules and requirements open doors for corruption. Steps in bidding and procurement have been drastically cut in previous years in certain government agencies such as the Department of National Defense, while at the same time promoting transparency and accountability in the bidding process. Those examples can be applied in other agencies. Unless there is a serious emergency, negotiated contracts must be avoided. Negotiated deals are quicker to finalize and implement, but in this country, they are magnets for corruption.
Many deals that are cancelled due to anomalies in bidding are for goods or services that are truly needed by the public. The cancellations delay the delivery of those goods and services. This should provide more impetus for the government to streamline procurement rules and procedures, starting with the bidding process.
