RESOLUTION NO.

04-2012
APPROVING AMENDMENTS TO RULE V OF THE REVISED IMPLEMENTING RULES AND
REGULATIONS PART A (IRR-A) OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9184 R.A. 9184), OTHERWISE
KNOWN AS GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT REFORM ACT
WHEREAS, Republic Act (RA) No. 9184, entitled An Act Providing for the Modernization,
Standardization and Regulation of the Procurement Activities of the Government and For Other
Purposes, took effect on 26 January 2003, while its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations
(RIRR) took effect on 2 September 2009;
WHEREAS, the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), under Section 63 (a) and (c) of the RA
9184 and its IRR, is mandated to protect national interest in all matters affecting public Procurement,
having due regard to the countrys regional and international obligations, and to formulate and amend
public procurement policies, rules and regulations, and amend the IRR, whenever necessary;
WHEREAS, after extensive consultation and deliberations, the GPPB approved the Revised IRR of RA
9184 through GPPB Resolution 03-2009 during its meeting held last 22 July 2009. It was published in a
Supplemental Issue of the Official Gazette last 3 August 2009, and took effect on 2 September 2009;
WHEREAS, Section 2 of the RA 9184 and its IRR declares that is the GOPs commitment to promote
good governance and adhere to the principle of transparency, accountability, equity, efficiency, and
economy in its procurement process;
WHEREAS, Section 3 (a) and (e) of the Government Procurement Reform Act (or RA 1984) provides, as
governing principles, that all procurement shall be ensure transparency in the procurement process and in
the implementation of procurement contracts; and that public monitoring of the procurement process and
the implementation of contracts shall be awarded pursuant to and be performed strictly according to the
provisions of the Act and its IRR.
WHEREAS, Section 13.2 of the IRR provides that to enhance the transparency of the process, the BAC
shall, in all stages of the procurement process, invite, in addition to the representative of the COA, at least
two (2) observers to sit in its proceedings where at least one (1) shall come from a duly registered nongovernment organization (NGO); provided that they do not have any direct or indirect interest in the
contract to be bid out. The observers should be duly registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and should meet the criteria for observers as set forth in the IRR.
NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the foregoing, WE, the Members of the
GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT POLICY BOARD, by virtue of the powers vested on US by law,
Hereby RESOLVE to confirm, adopt and approve, as WE hereby confirm, adopt and approve, the
following revisions to Sections 13 of Rule V of the IRR of RA 9184.

CURRENT PROVISION
Section 13.1.
To enhance the transparency of the process, the
BAC shall, in all stages of the procurement process,
invite, in addition to the representative of the COA,
at least two (2) observers, who shall not have the
right to vote, to sit in its proceedings where:
a) At least one (1) shall come from a duly
recognized private group in a sector or
discipline relevant to the procurement at hand, for
example:

APPROVED REVISION
Section 13.1.
To enhance the transparency of the process, the
BAC shall, in all stages of the procurement process,
invite, in addition to the representative of the COA,
at least two (2) observers, who shall not have the
right to vote, to sit in its proceedings where:
a) At least one (1) shall come from a duly
recognized private group in a sector or
discipline relevant to the procurement at hand, for
example:

i) For infrastructure projects, national associations

of constructors duly
recognized by the Construction Industry Authority
of the Philippines
(CIAP), such as, but not limited to the following:
(1) Philippine Constructors Association, Inc.;
(2) National Constructors Association of the
Philippines, Inc.; and
(3) Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE).

i) For infrastructure projects, national associations

of constructors duly
recognized by the Construction Industry Authority
of the Philippines
(CIAP), such as, but not limited to the following:
(1) Philippine Constructors Association, Inc.;
(2) National Constructors Association of the
Philippines, Inc.; and
(3) Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE).

ii) For goods, a specific relevant chamber-member

of the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

ii) For goods, a specific relevant chamber-member

of the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

iii) For consulting services, a project-related

professional organization
accredited or duly recognized by the Professional
Regulation Commission
or the Supreme Court, such as, but not limited to:
(1) PICE;
(2) Philippine Institute of Certified Public
Accountants (PICPA); and
(3) Confederation of Filipino Consulting
Organizations; and

iii) For consulting services, a project-related

professional organization
accredited or duly recognized by the Professional
Regulation Commission
or the Supreme Court, such as, but not limited to:
(1) PICE;
(2) Philippine Institute of Certified Public
Accountants (PICPA); and
(3) Confederation of Filipino Consulting
Organizations; and

b) The other observer shall come from a nongovernment organization (NGO).

b) The other observer shall come from a nongovernment organization (NGO).

Section 13.2.
The observers shall come from an organization
duly registered with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the
Cooperative Development Authority (CDA),
and should meet the following criteria:
a) Knowledge, experience or expertise in

The BAC shall choose only from the prescreened list of registered observers to be
provided for by the GPPB.
Section 13.2.
No amendments

procurement or in the subject matter of

the contract to be bid;
b) Absence of actual or potential conflict of interest
in the contract to be bid; and
c) Any other relevant criteria that may be
determined by the BAC.
Section 13.3.
All observers shall register with the GPPB to be
eligible to participate in the conduct of any
procurement, pursuant to the following rules:
a) Registration shall entail the submission of
proof and statement of qualifications on-line at
the PhilGEPS website.
b) An observer applying for registration shall be
required to create a PhilGEPS observers
account to which all communications from the
GPPB and a particular BAC shall be sent. Such
account shall be considered as such applicants
information system for purposes of reckoning
the date of sending or receipt of electronic
messages or documents.
c) Registered observers shall receive a digital
certificate from the GPPB and shall be part of
the centralized registry of the duly recognized
observers that shall be published at the
PhilGEPS website.
d) The information in the registry as to the
observers industry and area/geographical
proximity shall be the basis for the pre-screening
to be done by the GPPB. The GPPB the prescreened list of the registered observers to the
BAC within three (3) calendar days from the
date of posting of notice of bid in the PhilGEPs
website.
e) Registration shall be effective for five (5)
years and may be renewed, provided that the
observer concerned maintains its registration
current and updated at least once a year, or
more frequently when needed.
f) The GPPB shall deny registration to or
exclude from the registry any party that is found
to have willfully misrepresented any of the
information provided in the application for
registration.
Section 13.4.
The GPPB may deny or revoke an observers
registration on the following grounds:
a) willful misrepresentation of any of the
information provided in the application for
registration;

b) failure to make and submit a report to the

procuring entity and furnish a copy to the
GPPB and Office of the
Ombudsman/Resident Ombudsman;
c) failure to inhibit itself from the procurement
proceedings despite existence of actual or
potential interest in the contract to be bid;
d) breach of the confidentiality agreement as to
the documents accessed; and,
e) any other acts that undermine national
interest in all matters affecting public
procurement.
Section 13.5.
The GPPB shall provide an opportunity for a
fair hearing to every observer-registrant who is
dissatisfied with administrative decisions made
in the revocation of registration.
a) The Board shall notify the observerregistrant by registered mail or personal
service of the grounds for suspension or
revocation of its license.
b) The observer-registrant may within fifteen
(15) days from receipt of the decision of the
Board, file an appeal to the Office of the
President, otherwise the said decision shall
be final and executory upon the lapse of the
given period.
c) The Office of the President shall resolve the
appeal within fifteen (15) days from receipt.
The decision of the President shall be final
and executory.
Section 13.3.
Section 13.3. 13.6.
Observers shall be invited at least three (3) calendar Observers shall be invited at least three (3) calendar
days before the date of the procurement
days before the date of the procurement
stage/activity. The absence of observers will not
stage/activity. The absence of observers will not
nullify the BAC proceedings, provided that they
nullify the BAC proceedings, provided that they
have been duly invited in writing.
have been duly invited in writing. the GPPBregistered observers have been invited to the
procurement activity, in writing or on-line
through the PhilGEPS observers portal, at least
three (3) calendar days before the date of the
said stage/activity.
Section 13.4.
Section 13.4. 13.7.
The observers shall have the following
The observers shall have the following
responsibilities:
responsibilities:
a) To prepare the report either jointly or separately
a) To prepare the report either jointly or separately
indicating their observations made on the
indicating their observations made on the
procurement activities conducted by the BAC for
procurement activities conducted by the BAC for
submission to the Head of the Procuring Entity,
submission to the Head of the Procuring Entity,
copy furnished the BAC Chairman. The report shall copy furnished the BAC Chairman. The report shall

assess the extent of the BACs compliance with the

provisions of this IRR and areas of improvement in
the BACs proceedings;
b) To submit their report to the procuring entity and
furnish a copy to the GPPB and Office of the
Ombudsman/Resident Ombudsman. If no report is
submitted by the observer, then it is understood that
the bidding activity conducted by the BAC
followed the correct procedure; and
c) To immediately inhibit and notify in writing the
procuring entity concerned of any actual or
potential interest in the contract to be bid.
Section 13.5.
Observers shall be allowed access to the following
documents upon their request,
subject to signing of a confidentiality agreement:
(a) minutes of BAC meetings; (b)
abstract of Bids; (c) post-qualification summary
report; (d) APP and related PPMP;
and (e) opened proposals.

assess the extent of the BACs compliance with the

provisions of this IRR and areas of improvement in
the BACs proceedings using the Observers
Checklist provided for in Annex A of this
amended IRR.;
b) To submit their report to the procuring entity and
furnish a copy to the GPPB and Office of the
Ombudsman/Resident Ombudsman. If no report is
submitted by the observer, then it is understood that
the bidding activity conducted by the BAC
followed the correct procedure; and
c) To immediately inhibit and notify in writing the
procuring entity concerned of any actual or
potential interest in the contract to be bid.
Section 13.5. 13.8.
Observers shall be allowed access to the following
documents upon their request, subject to signing of
a confidentiality agreement:
All Bids and Awards Committees are mandated
to upload all documents relevant to a
procurement activity to the PhilGEPS website,
such as, but not limited to: (a) minutes of BAC
meetings; (b) abstract of Bids; (c) post-qualification
summary report; (d) APP and related PPMP; and
(e) opened proposals.
A duly-registered observer, upon confirmation of
participation to a procurement activity and
acceptance of confidentiality agreement, shall be
automatically entitled to have free access to all
documents related to that particular
procurement.

This resolution shall take effect immediately after its publication.

APPROVED this 29th day of March 2011 at Pasig City, Philippines.
_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND
MANAGEMENT
By:
_____________________________________
NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

By:

_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE
By:

_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
AND HIGHWAYS
By:

_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
By:

__________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
By:
_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
By:

_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
By:

Attested by:
____________________________________
DENNIS S. SANTIAGO
Board Secretary, GPPB
Executive Director, GPPB-TS

_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND
INDUSTRY
By:
_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
By:
_____________________________________
PRIVATE SECTOR REPRESENTATIVE
By:
_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
AND COMMUNICATIONS
By:
_____________________________________
DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
By: