Making A Difference for Good Governance Reforms: Case of Procurement Reform in the Philippines and the Role of PWI Ramon Clarete Procurement Watch Inc.

Understanding what works better for governance reforms o Towards the late 1990s, reformers saw the need to: o focus anti-corruption reform efforts in a specific but strategic area; o organize a coalition of reform-minded stakeholders; and o tilt the balance of political forces to the side of good governance.

Why public procurement reform o One major source of corruption o Weak institutions governing public procurement o PD 1594 (a 1978 law) governing public works procurement needed revisiting by late 1990s. o Rules governing procurement of goods were malleable. o Various public procurement laws and regulations lacked rationalization.

Reform coalition o Existing coalition had no links to civil society organizations (CSOs). o the DBM's Budget Reform Task Force o other government agencies o development partners through their TA teams o Increasing need of mobilizing such CSOs for an effective implementation of the procurement reform law once it is passed. o Technical assistance team given the task of organizing a CSO focused on procurement.

Procurement Watch o Procurement Watch Inc (PWI) was formed in February 2001 originally: o to help train government agencies on the new public procurement law and regulations. o to monitor the implementation of the procurement law. o However, the procurement reform had to be legally enabled yet at this time. o After the Estrada impeachment-related public indignation against corruption had died down with the resignation of former Pres. Estrada, enabling legally the proposed GPRA became more dificult. o PWI then took up the added role of advocating for the passage of the procurement reform law.

PWI’s advocacy campaign o Organization of a broad-based coalition of stakeholders including CSOs for procurement reform o Media campaign to raise the buy in of the majority of the population media for procurement reform

Coalition of CSOs and stakeholders o Anti-corruption NGOs under the Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) o Manifesto of TAN in favor of procurement reform. o Student organizations (Walang Ku-corrupt) o Students showed up in a committee hearing to demonstrate their support o Church o CBCP not only supported the passage of the law, it called for participation of third parties as observers in public bidding to ensure transparency.

Coalition of CSOs and stakeholders o Private sector o Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries threw in their support for the passage of the GPRA. o Even the Philippine Construction Association (PCA) turned out in favor of a more transparent and accountable bidding of public works. o Local government officials o League of Provinces issued a letter to the two houses of Congress supporting the passage of the procurement reform law.

Coalition of CSOs and stakeholders: What did PWI do o Approached through widely respected champions of the reform the various stakeholder representatives o Conducted meetings with stakeholders to discuss the proposed procurement law and how it contributes to curbing corruption. o Conducted training programs for the student leaders on the proposed law

Media Campaign: Objectives o The majority of uncommitted stakeholders are informed about the net benefits of the proposed procurement reform. o Issues and concerns on the reform raised by opponents are publicly addressed. o Mis-information about procurement reform is corrected publicly.

Media Campaign: Components o Targeted use of AM radio; o Participation in TV talk shows; o Regular news releases in print media; and o Advertising campaign.

AM Radio o Effective media vehicle to reach out to the lower income rural and urban residents o PWI organized briefings of selected AM radio announcers on procurement reform. o Developed simple but accurate message: Procurement reform is effective in curbing corruption. o Radio announcers discussed the reform over the air not just with supporters but more importantly with policymakers opposed to the reform. o Effective in locking in support of policy makers for the reform.

TV Talk Shows o These real time discussions on the reform targeted the middle and higher income segments of the population. o Participants included particularly legislators in favor and against the reform; as well as reform advocates from government and CSOs including PWI participated as well including PWI. o Advocates saw in these the opportunity to discuss the net benefits of the reform and to address legitimate concerns of stakeholders. o With PWI support, a TV documentary on the procurement reform was produced and aired.

Print Media o PWI organized series of two-day large conferences (in association with large organizations, e.g. PAGBA and AGAP) on the reform all over the country. o Events like these attract news reporters particularly as they dwelt on the controversial issue of corruption. o Smaller workshops were also organized and news reporters were invited to attend. o From these events, one got steady stream of news releases on the reform all over the country.

Advertising campaign o PWI developed a “brand”, i.e. a simple but effective motif to link procurement reform to ending corruption. o The brand was disseminated in streamers, and give aways like stickers, fans, T-shirts and screensavers. o Effective in associating the reform with the widely supported vision of getting rid of corruption in the government.

“Brand” of Procurement Reform

Post-enactment Activities o PWI helped out in providing comments to various drafts of the implementing rules and regulations. o Conducted training of BACs on the law and the IRRs. o Participated in public bidding as third party observers upon invitation of BACs. o Trained CSOs in order for them to enable them to expand the supply of observers.

Dissemination of Success Stories o PWI published “success stories” about the procurement reforms: how the government was able to save from the reform. o “Yes, Pigs can fly too!” o Contributors included: o Bangsamoro Development Agency o Concerned Citizens of Abra or Good Governance o Ateneo School of Government, Goverment-Watch o PWI; AND o Rural Enterprise Assistance Center

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DEEM o PWI developed a tool to facilitate the detection of over-pricing in public procurement of goods. o Differential Expenditure Efficiency Measurement (DEEM) tool allows PWI to compare the price paid by a government agency for the procured good with its fair market price.

Bantay Eskwela o PWI organized stakeholders of public schools (parents’ associations) in order to monitor the implementation of the school project. o It trained these stakeholders about the project and arranged that they be recognized as third party monitors. o Deviations from the design and specifications of the school buildings were then documented and reported.

Role of development partners o Development partners USAID, World Bank, ADB, EU, and others provided moral and financial support to CSOs in undertaking their respective advocacy for reform and monitoring its implementation. o Procurement reform enabled these donors to see how to make their assistance for development more effective. o Partnering with CSOs and supporting their respective activities in support of the reform as what transpired in procurement reform became institutionalized technical assistance activities of development partners.

Thank you.