Last April 28, 2017, a seminar orientation on RA 9184 also known as Alternative Methods of Procurement (Small Value Procurement, Shopping and Negotiated Procurement) was held at Sunny Point Hotel, Maa, Davao City. The seminar was attended by employees of various NCMF Regional Offices and conducted by the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Central Office.

The program was opened by a Dua’a and the singing of the Philippine National Anthem. The welcome remarks was prepared by the NCMF Davao Acting Regional Director, Norhaida M. Lumaan and delivered by Ms Sulbanon D. Quibo, Chief of the Socio-Economic Division, followed by a short message from the Executive Director and BAC Chairman Tahir S. Lidasan, Jr., CESO II.

Executive Director Lidasan mentioned about how the Honorable Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao shared her goal for the Commission and what needs to be done to accomplish such feat. With this, the Executive Director reminded the participants of the importance of learning about the RA 9184 and using the knowledge as their guide to give back to the Commission that has served as their secondary home for the duration of their stay.

Atty. Sitti Amirah K. Pendatun, Member of the BAC and the Director of the Bureau of Peace and Conflict Resolution then introduced the resource speaker, Atty. Tareeq Yahya Timhar A. Radjaie, Procurement Management Officer V of the Government Procurement Policy Board – Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO).

Atty. Radjaie gave an overview of the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) or the Republic Act No 9184 – its scope, principles and various procurement procedures. He also discussed the functions and responsibilities of the different actors involved in procurement namely, The Head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE), Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), BAC Secretariat, Technical Working Group (TWG) and Observers.

The resource speaker could not stress enough how important GPRA is. He also mentioned the governing principles of procurement which are Public Monitoring that includes awareness and vigilance, Accountability which pertains to responsibility over actions or decisions, Competitiveness which allows equal opportunity to all eligible bidders, Transparency giving wider dissemination of bid opportunities and a Streamlined Process which means that it is uniformly applicable to all government agencies and guarantees that effective and efficient method is used.