By Marivic Alcober
Tacloban City (4 December) — The Association of Resident Ombudsmen (ARO) in Region 8 in coordination with the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas, will be holding an “Ombudsman Forum” on Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.
According to ARO President Ruben M. Manatad of the National Food Authority, Biliran Provincial Office, the forum will be conducted on December 6, 2007 at the Leyte Normal University, Tacloban City. He bared that the participants of said forum are the Resident Ombudsmen of the different government entities in the region and officials of the Department of Education, also in region 8.
Manatad disclosed that the whole day affair will be graced by the newly appointed Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, Hon. Pelagio S. Apostol, Director Virginia P. Santiago and other Ombudsmen Visayas officials. Likewise, Director Rafael G. Hipolito from the Office of the Ombudsman, Central Office is also expected to participate in said affair and have an exclusive session with the Resident Ombudsmen.
Further, it was expounded that RA 9184 is an Act providing for the modernization, standardization and regulation of the procurement activities of the government. It provides that all procurement of the national government shall be governed by the principle of transparency, specifically in the implementation of procurement contracts.
The Act also states that the procurement process shall be governed by competitiveness by extending equal opportunities to parties concerned to enable private contracting entities who are eligible and qualified to participate in the public bidding. The procurement process be simple and made adaptable to advances in modern technology in order to ensure an effective and efficient method. (PIA-8)