Briefing with the Senate Legislative Budget Research
and Monitoring Office andCommittee of Finance (03 October 2023)

Present from Senate were Director General Eireen Palanca of LBRMO, Atty. Fatima Panontongon from the Office of Senator Angara, and Atty. Yolanda Doblon from the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.

Second Senate Public Hearing (21 February 2024)

Senate Interpellations hearing 15 May 2024

Senate Sponsorship hearing (12 March 2024)

Legislative Journey regarding RA No. 9184 Amendments (Senate)

      Beginning October 2023, the Senate Committee on Finance held its public hearing consultation on the amendment bills on the Republic Act (RA) No. 9184, to re-evaluate this two-decade-old law to enhance government procurement processes and align the swift advancements in technology, compounded by the previous challenges of the pandemic.

      In June 2023, the GPPB-TSO proposed the issuance of a Position Paper to the proposed bills of the House of Representatives (HoR) and Senate of the Philippines (Senate) on salient points requiring the policy direction of the GPPB. However, the proposed position paper was superseded by the development of the Administrative Bill by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), in collaboration with GPPB-TSO and Procurement Service (PS), the cornerstones of which were then presented to the Office of the President in August 2023, then the 3rd Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) in September 2023. Subsequently, the DBM submitted the same to the HoR and Senate of the Philippines in October 2023.  It is highlighted that the Bill has been the result of the pronouncement of the President during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) calling both Houses to enact a new procurement law. Moreover, it bears emphasis that the GPPB-TSO has proposed the inclusion of the earlier recommendations and comments of the GPPB relative to RA No. 9184 amendment into the Administrative Bill. 

      The Administrative Bill has been incorporated in Senate Bill (SB) No. 2466, introduced by Sen. Sonny Angara, and was set for the first reading on 06 November 2023. This was subsequently referred to the Committee on Finance for more in-depth deliberations, with the GPPB-TSO actively participating therein.

      In February 2024, the Senate Committee on Finance held Technical Working Group hearings to discuss proposed amendments to RA No. 9184. Following this, in March 2024, SB No. 2593, also known as the New Government Procurement Reform Act, was filed by several committees including Finance, Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking, National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, Local Government, Civil Services, Government Reorganization, and Professional regulation.

      Upon the Sponsorship of the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance of SB No. 2593, several Plenary Hearing was conducted by the Senate from March to May 2024, within which period, the GPPB-TSO has been actively coordinating with the Office of Sen. Angara and supporting the Sponsor. This includes discussion on procurement timelines and different procurement modalities with the objective of simplifying the processes.

      After the period of interpellation and amendments, the Senate approved on third reading SB No. 2593 on 21 May 2024, with unanimous support from all Senators.

      The legislative journey of the proposed amendments to RA No. 9184 culminated in the ratification of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on SB No. 2593 and HB No. 9648 on 22 May 2024.