September 29, 2015

“The door to project implementation,” is how National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) Procurement Officer Rosanna V. Joacquin describes the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) procurement process.

“Ito ang magpa-facilitate ng realization ng project. Ang interventions ay goods and infrastructure support para mag-go ang project (It will facilitate the realization of the project with goods and infrastructure support as interventions to run the project),” she said.

To equip the Provincial Project Management and Implementation Units (PPMIUs) and proponent groups (PGs) of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte for the procurement stage of their agro-industrial enterprise development sub-projects, the NPCO and Project Support Office (PSO) procurement team along with the Regional Project Coordination Office V (RPCO V) Investments in Rural Enterprises and Agriculture and Fisheries Productivity (I-REAP) staff conducted a two-day procurement training to PPMIUs and proponent groups of the aforementioned provinces on September 23-24, 2015 at Villa Caceres Hotel in Naga City. The procurement training was intended for both PPMIUs that received No Objection Letter 1 in August 2015 for their proposed I-REAP sub-projects namely Camarines Sur Coco Sap Sugar Processing Center in Baao, Camarines Sur and Coco Geonets Manufacturing Enterprise in Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte.

Joacquin and PSO Finance Analyst II Luchen Dechos provided lectures on the I-REAP Subproject Work and Financial Plan (WFP), I-REAP Subproject Requirements for Fund Releases, and I-REAP Procurement Arrangements. They also discussed the Harmonized Philippine Bidding Documents for Works and Goods. In addition, a workshop on Enterprise Subproject Procurement Plan preparation was conducted.

According to PPMIU-Camarines Sur I-REAP Component Head Rossanna D. Quilon, the procurement training has been very beneficial to her team for it gave them the guidance and direction to go about the procurement of equipment and civil works for the enterprise.

Meanwhile, Camarines Norte Acting Provincial Agriculturist Engr. Almirante A. Abad expressed appreciation of the procurement training for it made him aware of World Bank guidelines.

“Sana after nitong submission ng requirements ma-NOL 2 (No Objection Letter 2) agad para hindi umabot ng election ban, ma-issue ang award outside the election ban period (We hope to receive the No Objection Letter 3 as soon as we submit the requirements so that we could issue the award outside the election ban period),” he said.

Among the requirements that the PPMIUs and PGs must comply with are the inclusion of the I-REAP sub-project in the provincial local government unit’s (PLGU’s) Project Procurement Management Plan (PPMP), submission of finalized Work and Financial Plan, Procurement Plan, and Philippine Bidding Documents (PBD). They are also mandated to submit an approved detailed engineering design (DED) for infrastructure support, signed Implementation Management Agreement (IMA), purchase request for goods, and Bid Evaluation Report (BER). The PPMIUs are also scheduled to conduct pre-procurement and pre-bid conferences prior to bid opening.

“The proponent group and the PPMIU must work together to make the procurement process successful and transparent para makatulong tayo sa project beneficiaries natin (The proponent group and the PPMIU must work together to make the procurement process successful and transparent for us to help our project beneficiaries),” Joacquin said.

On the other hand, the PPMIUs committed to work towards an effective and efficient procurement process.

“We ensure to contribute to a successful procurement process for us to provide the best equipment and tools for the Federation of Baao Women Multi-Purpose Cooperative (FBW MPC) enterprise,” Quilon said.

Abad guaranteed a transparent and fair procurement process by following the WB guidelines and Republic Act 9184, also known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.

“As PPMIU, para maging successful ang procurement, poproteksyonan natin ang pera na gagamitin dyan para makabili ng maayos na gamit upang hindi mawalan ng value yung pera (As PPMIU, to achieve a successful procurement process, we shall protect and not devalue the money that we’ll be using in order to purchase the best equipment),” he added.

Under the I-REAP Procurement Arrangement, PGs that undergone the procurement training and have formed the Procurement Committee are allowed to manage the procurement of goods and works while procurement of infrastructure support facilities contracts as well as all contracts above the PG threshold shall be managed by the PLGU Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

I-REAP is one of the four components of PRDP, a six-year project being implemented by the Department of Agriculture designed to establish a modern, inclusive, climate-smart, and value chain-oriented agri-fishery sector. I-REAP focuses on the installation of production and market support facilities for efficient value chains of agri-fishery products in targeted project areas. (Annielyn L. Baleza, I-SUPPORT InfoACE Unit, DA-RAFIS 5)

The Procurement Training for PPMIU and PG of Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte was held on September 23-24, 2015 at Villa Caceres Hotel in Naga City. This is following the No Objection Letter 1 issuance to the Camarines Sur Coco Sap Sugar Processing Center and Camarines Norte’s Coco Geonets Manufacturing Enterprise.