The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has warned corrupt bidders that their schemes will no longer succeed under the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA).
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the law requires disclosure of beneficial ownership information, compelling companies participating in public procurement to reveal the identities of individuals who actually own, control, or exert significant influence over them.
‘The disclosure of beneficial ownership is a powerful feature of the new law because it ensures that conflicts of interest in public procurement are avoided,’ Pangandaman said, as quoted in a press release on Monday.
‘We are closing the doors on corruption and collusion in bidding for government projects. Under the NGPA, the old tricks of palit-pangalan, palit-ulo, and dummy company owners will no longer work,’ she added.
Pangandaman noted that the disclosure of beneficial ownership will strengthen integrity and ensure full transparency in the public procurement process, especially since a 2023 study by the Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office found that 65.8 percent of bidders share common owners.
The NGPA, hailed as the country’s biggest anti-corruption measure, was signed into law by President Marcos on July 20, 2024. The harmonized version of Senate Bill No. 2593 and House Bill No. 9648 aims to close loopholes in the current government procurement system for a more efficient and responsive process.
A key feature of the NGPA is its provision of 11 new procurement modalities, giving government agencies greater flexibility in acquiring goods and services./mcm