In an effort to stop corruption in government, concerned agencies are pushing for the President’s directive to clean up the government procurement process. The Department of Budget and Management sees the need for the Government Procurement Act to be amended specifically the basis for bidding from the “lowest calculated responsive bid” to the “most responsive and advantageous bid”. The President has once bewailed how the current practice merely leads to substandard infrastructure and is a source of corruption.
The procurement process itself is also prone to abuse by contractors. The winning bidder tends to purchase materials cheaper than what is agreed upon or get a sub-contractor who would do the project at a lower rate.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo pointed out that the Chief Executive, himself, wanted introduce amendments to Republic Act No. 9184 to deter corruption.