EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 235
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 235 -
STREAMLINING THE RULES AND PROCEDURES OF DEFENSE CONTRACTS
WHEREAS,
in line with the government’s program of good governance, there is a
need to streamline procedures for defense contracts for the expeditious
implementation of defense projects and the speedy response to security
threats while promoting transparency, impartiality, and accountability
in government transactions;
WHEREAS, to achieve the foregoing, the Task Force created by the
undersigned to study the procurement process and fund disbursement
system of the AFP has recommended the issuance of an Executive Order to
streamline the rules and procedures on defense contracts;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby
order:
Section 1. Signing and Approving Authority. — Except
for contracts required by law to be acted upon and/or approved by the
President, the Secretary of National Defense shall have the authority
to sign and/or approve Government contracts of the Department of
National Defense and any of its bureaus, offices or agencies, before
the Government contract shall be considered approved in accordance with
law and binding on the Government: Provided, however, that the
Secretary of National Defense may delegate in writing to appropriate
officials, subject to appropriate ceilings, this authority to sign
and/or approve a Government contract below Fifty Million Pesos (P50
Million), as he sees fit under the circumstances: Provided, further,
that for Government contracts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
involving an amount below Fifty Million Pesos (50 Million), the Chief
of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall have full
authority to sign the same.
Sec. 2. Creation of a Single GHQ BAC; Composition.
— In accordance with and subject to the provisions of law, for the
purposes of the immediately preceding Section , the Armed Forces of the
Philippines shall be considered as a procuring entity with respect to
Government contracts pertaining to it, and it shall establish in its
General Headquarters (GHQ) a single Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) to
undertake all public biddings therein. The GHQ BAC shall be composed of
the following members:
Regular Members:
1.
Chairman, who is at least a third ranking permanent officer of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines;
2. An officer,
who is at least a fifth ranking permanent officer of the Armed Forces
of Philippines, with knowledge, experience, and/or expertise in
procurement and, to the extent possible, represents the legal or
administrative area of the Armed Forces of the Philippines;
3. An officer,
who is at least a fifth ranking permanent officer of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines, and to the extent possible, represents the finance
area of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Provisional Members:
4. An officer
of the subordinate unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to which
the procurement pertains who has technical expertise relevant to the
procurement at hand, and, to the extent possible, has knowledge,
experience, and/or expertise in procurement; and
5. A
representative from the end user unit who has knowledge of procurement
laws and procedures.
The members of the BAC, including the Chairman and the Vice Chairman,
shall be designated by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines. Moreover, the Vice-Chairman shall be selected from among
the regular members of the BAC.
Sec. 3. BAC Secretariat: Technical Working Group.
— The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall
create a Secretariat which shall serve as the main support unit of the
BAC. He may designate an existing organic office within the GHQ to
serve as Secretariat. However, he may reorganize any relevant unit
within the GHQ by designating it as a BAC Secretariat and redeploying
appropriate existing personnel to it to perform this function, as well
as procurement related tasks. The Head of the BAC Secretariat shall be
at least a fifth ranking permanent employee.
The BAC shall be supported by a Technical Working Group. For this
purpose each subordinate unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
shall maintain a pool of technical, financial and legal experts, which
pool may be called upon by the BAC, depending on the type of
procurement involved, to assist in the procurement process,
particularly in the review of bidding documents, in the eligibility
screening, evaluation of bids and post qualification.
Sec. 4. This Executive Order takes effect
immediately.