Acquisition of supplies and materials for local governments

Media

Part of The Local Government Review

Title: Acquisition of supplies and materials for local governments
Creator: Guia, Benito
Language: English
Year: 1949
Subject: Local Government Units.; Government purchasing.
Rights
Abstract: [This is portion of Guia's paper read during the last conference of Provincial and City Auditors held in Manila]
Fulltext: Acquisition Of Supplies And Materials ·For Local Govern men ts · By BENITO GUIA Chief Supervising Au:ditor of the Provincial Audit Department of the General Auditing Office (Portion of his paper read during the last conference of Provincial a.nd City Auditors held in Manila) will limi:t myself to questions arising from the acquisition of. supplies and materials and some other import:mt provincial• matters. The provisions of Executive Order No. 298, series of 1940, require purchases of supplies to be mad\) through public bidding with certain exceptions. One exception is when ·the Auditor General, the Secretary of. Justice and the Secretary of the Department concerned have been consulted and approval of the President gecured beforehand.. Other exceptions are when the purchases invdlv-ed 1"100.00 or less in each case, which amount is increased to '1'1,000 in a circular-te!egram of. this Office dated February 28, 194.8, and if they are made under Department Orders Nos. 7 and 8 dated June 18, 1945 of the Department of ,Finance. Another exception is the case of emergency purchase involving danger to, or loss of life and / or property or to avoid serious detri_ ment to the public 8ervice. Under Department Order No. 2, se::ries of 1936, of the Department of. Fi:rnnce, there are three ways of acquir·'ing supplies for the Government: (1) Direct Order and Payment System; (2) :Local purchases; and (3) Purchase ·,thru the Procurement Office. Under the Direct Order and Payment Sysbem there is a circular proposal approved by the Pu• rchasing Agent whereby any purchase of the govei:nment may be made direct from the de::>}er concerned. That is to say, upon the receipt of. the necessary r:oquis:ition, the contractor shall deliv·er the supplies called for directly to the requisitioning bureau or office, provincial, city or mui1icipality or other local political subdivisions and collect therefrom, also directly, the cost of Pe:ge 174 supplies, inclu·ding incidental .expenses in the delivery thereof to the point of destination indicated in the requisi:tion. In the case of locaJI· purchases, they ~hould only be availed of when the needed ·supplies are ob!tainable at reasonr.ble prices in the respective localities or in neighboring places. Diri'Ct purchases from Manila merchants without the intervention of the Procurement Office are not contemplated under this authorization. Department Order No. Z provides also that no local purchase ·should be made of. supplies which require a scientific or technical test for the determination of their quality. Purchases thru the Procurement Office are effected thru the usual requisition form ililed with said' office which, upon receipt of such requisition, 8hall secure the most advantageous quotations following the requirements of Execu:tive Order No. 298, series of 1940, and issue the necessary buyer's order for the direct delivery of the supplies called for. In the case of an emergency purchase payable from local government funds, the provincial or city treasurer concerned shall submit to the Auditor General thru the Provincial or City ,l\..uditor concerned a regular requisition to cover such purchase showing thereon: (1) a complete description of the articles acquired; (2) by whom furnished; (3)· date' of acquisition; (4) the unit prices and the total amount paid; (5) a clear expfanation of th.3 circumstances why the articles were urgently needed or why a regular requ·isition could not be previously coursed as required withou:t cacising detriment to the public service; and THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW {6) a certificate to the effect that the price paid for was the lowest obtainable at the time of purchase. This certificate should be supported by an authentic list of the various dealers, their respective addresses and prices offer.ed, as a result of the personal canvass made of the market in the locality and /or neighboring 'Places. The Provin.cial or City Auditor concerned shall at once forward said requisition to the General Auditing O'ffice :together with his comment and recommendation. The General Auditing Office will then ref.er said requisition to the Pur.chasing Agent for his determination as to the reasonableness of the price or prices paid for the suppl,ies therein ~isted. Upon '!he return of the requisi:tion du,ly acted uport by the Purchasing fAgent, the General Auditing Office will forward it thru the Department Head concerned and the 8·ecretary of Justice, to His Excellency, the President of the Philippines,, for ap:;:iroval, as an exception to Executive -Order No. 298, series of 1940. Pending approval of the requisi:tion, credit ·Of the corresponding transaction in the ~ ~ccounts of the province, city or mu!Jicipality concerned, i's tentatively suspended in audit. Shou'ld it be found that the prices paid were high, the matter will be brought to the attention of the Department Head concerned for appropriate action under SeC"tion 587 -0f the Administrative Code. With respect to local emergency pur.chases in provinces and cities payable from National Government Funds,, 1 wish to inform you that all requisitions pertinent· thereto, if the amount involved exceeds 'l"l,000.00 in each case, shall be forwarded to the Prop.erty Requisition Committee for its action, tog·ether with the comment. and recommendation of the Provincia1 i and City Auditors concerned. These requiBitions include the acquisition of art" ides to be purchased from governmentowned corporations as well as from private companies under the direct order and payment system (Circular No. 4, supra, and 2nd indorsement dated September 12, 1947, of the Chai!'man, Property Requisition Committee, to the MARCH, 1949 Provincial Auditor of Iloilo). 'Writh respect to proposed purchases in excess of Pl,000.00 in each case, thru public bidding, of supplies and equipment needed to meet the regular and essential requirements of the service, the Provincial Committee may, subject to the provisions of Executive Order No. 302, series of 1940, award the bid to the lowest and most advantageous bidders, if the corresponding requisition had been approved by :the Prop-, 1~rty Requisition Committee previous to the biddfog. If the previous ll!pproval had not 'been secured, the requisition. showing the lowest and most advantageous. prices offered for the artides should be forwarded to the Properly Requisition Committee tor approval under Executive Order No. 43, series of 1947.. A copy of the abstract of the bids ·should be attached. The award of the order to the successful bidder or bidders should te held i?J abeyance pending the receipt of the requisil.ion duly approved by the Committee. (1st indorsement dated ;:;eptember 2,' 1947, of the Chairman, Property Requisition Committee, to the Prov.incial Auditor of P.lbay). Emergency purchases of supplies and mat·erials in excess of Pl,000.00 may, subject to the requirements of Executive Order No. 298, series of 1940, and other exis'ling regulations, be mad') without first forwarding the corresponding requisition to the Prop·~ rty Reqiuis:ition Commi~tea for approval under Executive Order No. 43, series of 1947, if such suppli·es and materials are urgently needed to meet actual emergency involving danger to, or 10ss of, life and/or prop·erty or to avoid rletriment to the public service; provided, however, that immediately after ~he purchase the requisition therefor . i8 submitted, showing (a) complete de' cription of· the article3 acquired, ( b) date of acquisiiion, (c) the unit prices and the total amount paid, and (d) a clear explanation of the circumstances why the articles were urgently needed or why a regular requisition could not be previous'1y coursed as required. In forwarding such requisitions to the Committee, they should l::e accompaPage 175 nied by the comment and recommendatfon of the Provincial Auditor, together with . the. abstract of bids, if any had been held. (2nd indorsement dat~ .ed September 12, 1947, of the Chairman, Property Requisition Committee, to the IProvincial Auditor of Hoilo). I wish also to inform. you that no government contract for public services and/or for furnishing supplies and materials to the Republic of the Philippines or any of fts branches·, subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities shall be entered into if by the terms thereof, the Government is required to .make an advance payment for services .not yet rendered and/or supplies and materials not yet delivered. (Executive Order No. 107 dated December 3, 1947) . No payment, partial or final, sha:ll be -made on any contract without certificate on the voucher therefor to the effect that the services and/ or suppl·ies and .materials for which payment is contemplated have been rendered or delivered, as the case may be, in accordance with the terms of the contract and have been · duly inspected :md accepted. Such certificate shall . be signed by the Chief of the Office having full knowledge of the facts of the case. (Executive Order No. 107, supra). Another matter which I w'ish to bring to your attention is about the budget. Under Republic \Act No. 238, municipal budgets are no longer subject to the approval of the Provincial Treasurer; hence, salary increases of municipal personnel may go into effect upon approval of the budget by the municipal council. However, payment of the salary increases therein authorized shall not be effected un1il the approval of such salary increases by the Department of • Finance is received even if the corresponding appointments were already approved by the authorities concerned This requirement also applies to ~ewly created position and the salary increases of provincial and city employees. In this connection, attention is invited to Section 648 of the Revised Manual of Instructions to Treasurers. Page 176 In the matter of salaries of auditor's personnel this regulation has invariably been observed by this Office. That -is why in submitting recommendation to fill newly created positions and to give salary increas·es to members of office personnel, you shou1d al'.Vays see to it that said recommendation be accompanied with the approval of the corresponding appropriation by the 'Finance Secretary. And• do not make your recommendee work until you are so advised by the Central Office. In this connection, mention may also be made of the matter relative to the abolition of the bonus and the giving of the corresponding amount as an automatic salary increase which is authorized to national employees unde1· Republic Act No. 320. While this is not applicable to local governments, the policy has been adopted to extend the same privilege to local government employees and laborers, if the corresponding appropriation has been approved by the Department of Finance and subject to the condition that the instructions and regulations prescribed for national employees under Memorandum Circular dated June 29, 1948 of the Executive Secretary are complied with. Another matter which I believe merits a little mention in this gathering is the application of Republic Act No. 218 extending the leave privi• leges to temporary employees and .laborers. In - s• ubmitting leave of applications of the auditor's personnel for approval of. the Central Office, it is desired that mention be made of the date of their appointment, and the number of days and dates of leave enjoyed with or without pay from July 1, 1947, for proper determination if the applicant is entitled to the leave applied for with er without ·pay. It is desired to mention also something about bonding of accountable officers. Once a year, provincial and city auditors are required to submit a report on the sufficiency of the bonds of accountable officers. It would be haphazard verification if there is no (Continued on page 180) THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW Establishment ... in the provinces, cities or municipalities are subordinate emploY'ees of the National Library, and should· be appointed by the Secretary of Public Instruction. This opinion, however, involves branches of the Nationail Library to the maintenance of which the province, city, or town merely contrib11tes by appropriating funds to pay the salaries of some of the employees in such branch and to defray other expenses. (See 2nd Par., Op. 131, s. 1940.) The public libraries which are the subject. of this query are, on the other hand, not branches of the Bureau of Public Libraries but are separate libraries established and oper'lted exclusively by ·the town, province, or city and supported wholly by local funds. Convincing proof that not all publir libraries are intend'f:d to be subject to the supervision of the Bureau of Public Libraries is found in the con. ti~ast between the provisions relative to the Bureau of Education and those referring to the Bure~u of Public Libraries. Section 909 of the Revised Administrative Code 1Jrovides: "To the Bureau of Educa:tion (changed to ;B·ureau of 'Public Schools, by Executive Order No. 94, Sec. 83) is committed the administration of the public 3chool system and the supervision of the general school inte:·ests of the Philippine Islands x x x." The terms "public school system" and "general :;chool interests" are used without qualification in this section, and are broad enough to cover all public schools in the Philippines. All public schools consequ,•ntly fall within the supervision of the Bureau of Public Schools. In contras.t, nowhere in the Revised Adminisfrative Code or :my other law is there found a provision s.imilar to section 909 granting the ·Bureau of Public Libraries grneral superint·2ndence over all iJibraries established at imblic expense. On the contrary as already previously shown, a numbe'r of Provisions in the Revised A dministra-. tive Code exist which give evidence Page 18() Acquisition ... basds of insuring the correctness of ~uch verification. !For this purpose it is suggested that provincial treasurers .. as well as city treasurers be requested to submit all requests for bonding to the provincial or city auditor concerned for comment before they are sent to the Treasurer of the Philippines. The Provincial or City Auditor will record such applications in ".Bond Index" card obtainable from the Bureau of Printing. Each card is for ·2ach bondalYle position which , can be determin_ ed from .the approved , plantillas or budgets. The status of each request for bonding should once in a while he ascertained from the provincial or city treasurer to see whether the same has been approved already by the authorities concerned. The operation of the provincial or cHy garage as requ.ired by Executive Order No. 172, series of 1938, as amended, may also be mentioned. All government land transportation except thos·e purchased from the road and bridge fund should be kept in the p r o v i n c i a 1 or city garage and operated under the garage system. Exception from this requirement was sought from time to time and the request has invariably been recommended for disapproval. iProvincfal and city auditors are therefore expected to see to it that the said motor vehicles are operated by.the district or city engineers concerned under the garnge s~s·tem. In this connection :t should be stated that in view of the amendment by Executive Order No. 51, ~eries of 1947, the rate to be set aside i:s reserve for the acquisition of new cars to r2place the old Ol"!es should be l"0.05 per kilometer for automobile and '!''0.0375 per kilometer for jeep. )f an illtent to permit the establishment of public libraries removed from the authority of the Bureau of Public Libraries. .For the foregoing- reasons, the query is answered in the affirmative. (Sgd.) ROMAN OZAETA Secretary of Justfoe THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVIEW
pages: 174-176, 180