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MONTHLY UPDATE: TAN Initiatives
LIFESTYLE CHECK SEMINAR-WORKSHOP (February 4, 2003)
The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) in cooperation with the
Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) and the Development
Academy of the Philippines (DAP) conducted an Action Planning Seminar
Workshop on Lifestyle Check last February 4, 2003. Various groups, a mix
of government and non-government organizations, attended and
participated in the workshop.
During the morning session, Dr. Segundo Romero of the DAP presented a
menu of strategies in undertaking the lifestyle check. Experts from PCIJ,
PNP, ISAFP, PAOCC, Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) and NBI also shared
information on different investigation techniques and experiences.
Initial commitments were made as regards the sharing and exchange of
information to strengthen and develop a comprehensive and effective
mechanism to undertake the lifestyle check.
In the afternoon session, a workshop was conducted with the objective of
operationalizing the lifestyle check. Two break-out groups were formed –
government and non-government – for the brainstorming of possible
activities for 2003.
For the government side, the most urgent plan identified was the
drafting of a Memoranda of Agreement with various government offices to
facilitate acquisition of information and to effect closer coordination
among investigative bodies. There were also plans of developing a
capacity-building course on counter-intelligence. TAN was identified to
mobilize civil society groups and identify potential civil society
watchdogs to undergo training seminars on counter-intelligence. A
Lifestyle Check Task Force will also be created with the DAP, OMB, TAN
and PGEA initially identified as members. There was also mention of the
need to revise the Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL) form to
include Income Tax Return and a waiver on the investigation of bank
records. Networking was also identified as an immediate need. For 2003,
networking shall be effected through an e-group system for purposes of
exchanging information. Eventually, a website focused on this initiative
is planned to be set up. There are also plans for legislative advocacy
work in support of amending the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA
3019) towards becoming more effective and the passage of the Right to
Information Bill, all in the spirit of making lifestyle check much
easier to do.
For the non-government side, the next steps that need to be taken in
2003 as seen by civil society groups are:
· Networking through e-group for closer coordination and support among
civil society groups
· Setting up of a Lifestyle Check desk or unit in each organization
· Legislative advocacy work in support of amending the Anti-Money
Laundering Law and passage of the Right to Information Bill
· Pursuit of the alleged money-laundering stint of Senator Panfilo
Lacson
· Endorsement of names for lifestyle check
The seminar-workshop ended on a positive note with commitment of support
from civil society groups and commitment of cooperation from government
organizations.
TAN-OMBUDSMAN DIALOGUE (January 14, 2003)
Last January 14, the TAN Executive Council had a dialogue with Ombudsman
Simeon Marcelo. The dialogue focused on possible areas of cooperation or
collaborative partnerships between TAN and the Office of the Ombudsman.
Ombudsman Marcelo shared his priorities with the group namely monitoring
of agencies, capability-building, and lifestyle check. The Executive
Council shared these priorities and proposed to submit a consolidated
concept paper for his consideration. The consolidated paper included
proposals from Procurement Watch, Inc., Government Watch, and the
Development Academy of the Philippines. It was submitted to the Office
of the Ombudsman last February 4, 2003.
CITIZEN WATCH ON TAX AUTHORITY REFORM
On February 21, the La Salle Institute of Governance (LSIG) will sponsor
a workshop on tax governance in partnership with the Transparency and
Accountability Network (TAN) and The Asia Foundation (TAF). The broad
aim of this activity is to gather support for the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) reform process and to educate the people on tax
governance. As such, this workshop also aims to drum up support for the
National Revenue Authority bill that is being discussed at the House of
Representatives, which will enable the restructuring of the BIR.
To date, LSIG is focused on the logistics of the workshop. Efforts are
being made to gather a good mix of participants from youth and student
groups, young professionals, civil society, government and academic
institutions. While busy preparing for the activity, LSIG is also
partnering with groups like the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Walang
Ku-Corrupt in educating the people and gathering public support for the
National Revenue Authority legislation. SWS will provide LSIG free tax
governance rider questions while possible collaborative activities are
still being explored with Walang Ku-Corrupt.
Education materials on BIR reform and the bill are being gathered by the
LSIG, some of which will be included in the workshop kits. The
preparation for the tax governance website is on its final stage and
will be uploaded in time for the activity.
Department of Education’s National Textbook Delivery Program
The Department of Education through the office of Usec. Mike Luz invited
TAN, GWatch, Procurement Watch, CODE-NGO and NAMFREL to a
meeting/briefing last February 7, Friday.
The meeting focused on the National Textbooks Delivery Program of the
Department of Education, which plans to involve civil society groups in
its system of delivery as local monitors. The local monitors shall make
sure that textbooks get delivered to district offices.
TAN, CODE-NGO and NAMFREL have been identified by DepEd as possible
partners in this initiative. DepEd seeks the help of TAN in identifying
local monitors. Mr. Telibert Laoc of NAMFREL has committed NAMFREL’s
assistance and groundwork support to DepEd.
On February 15, DepEd will hold another meeting, this time involving the
suppliers/publishers. The meeting will discuss in detail the delivery
schedules and other matters relevant to exacting proper delivery of
textbooks.
Government Procurement Reform Act
Last January 10, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed the
Procurement Reform Bill into law as R.A. 9184.
Having succeeded in the passage of the GPRA, Procurement Watch, Inc. is
now focused on the development of the Implementing Rules & Regulations (IRR).
With this objective, PWI held a consultative workshop for civil society
stakeholders on February 11 and will hold another workshop for local
government units on February 12.
The workshop aimed to draw inputs from civil society and private sector
organizations on the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of GPRA.
As soon as the IRR is finalized, PWI will hold training sessions in the
regions for civil society organizations and local government units.
The major provisions of the GPRA are as follows:
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Major Provisions of the Government Procurement Reform Act
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GPRA
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Rationale
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Preference
for Provincial Contractors - – Within five (5) years from the
effectivity of this Act, a contractor who participates in the
bidding of provincial priority programs and infrastructure projects,
whose principal office is within the same province, and who submits
the lowest bid among the provincial bidders which is higher than the
lowest bid made by a contractor with principal office outside the
said province shall be granted the privilege to match the bid made
by the latter. |
To
spruce the local economy
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Contract Prices- For the given scope of work in the contract as
awarded, all bid prices shall be considered as fixed prices, and
therefore not subject to price adjustments during contract
implementation, except under extraordinary circumstances and upon
prior approval of the GPPB. |
To avoid
adjustments leading to increases in the actual contract price
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Establishment of the Government Procurement Policy Board with
Secretary of DBM as Chairman, the Director-General of NEDA as
Alternate Chairman with the Secretaries of DPWH, DOF, DTI, DOH, DND,
DepEd, DILG, DOST, DOTC, DOE or their duly authorized
representatives, and a representative from the private sector as
Members. COA representative may serve as resource person.
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To
protect national interest in all matters affecting public
procurement
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Honoraria for BAC Members - The Procuring Entity may grant payment
of honoraria to the BAC members in an amount not to exceed twenty
five percent (25%) of their respective basic monthly salary subject
to availability of funds. For this purpose, the Department of Budget
and Management (DBM) shall promulgate the necessary guidelines.
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To
provide incentives to BAC members
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Reference to Brand Names - Specifications for the Procurement of
Goods shall be based on relevant characteristics and/or performance
requirements. Reference to brand names shall not be allowed.
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To
ensure a more level playing field
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Requirement of a bid security and a performance security to also
cover bids on consulting services. |
To
standardize requirements and to help ensure that bidders enter
into contract and comply with their contractual obligations
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Disclosure of relations - all bidding documents shall be accompanied
by a sworn affidavit of the bidder that he or she or any officer of
their corporation is not related to the head of the agency by
consanguinity or affinity up to the third civil degree |
To
ensure a more level playing field
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Posting of all bid opportunities in agency websites; standardization
of forms; and requiring an NGO representative as an observer in the
Bids and Awards Committee |
To
increase transparency
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| Shift
from pre-qualification to simple eligibility check while
strengthening post-qualification; use of lowest calculated
responsive bid as basis for award – price and quality is no longer
linked. Bids and Awards Committee members no longer have any
discretion as the point/merit system has been taken out.
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To limit
discretion
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Stiffer penalties in terms of fines and imprisonment for both
government and private sector individuals who do not abide by the
provisions stated by the law. Prescription of reasonable warranty
periods for goods and civil works projects. |
To
enhance accountability
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| By
circumscribing discretion and streamlining the procurement process,
the time allotted for actual bidding of goods will be reduced from 7
months to less than 3 months, and for civil works, 12 months to less
than 4 months. |
To limit
delays
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NARA/
IRMA Bills (from Reform_BIR e-group – AGILE, AKBAYAN, CIBAC, pagbabago@Pilipinas)
The NARA and IRMA were consolidated into the National Revenue Authority
bill or NRA at the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means.
The Committee approved the consolidated bill on February 11. In the
Senate, a similar bill creating a National Authority for Revenue
Administration was introduced by Senator Magsaysay.
There are groups that have come out, however, opposing the passage of
these bills, one of which includes the BIR Employees Association (BIREA).
BIREA conducted a “massive” strike last February 6 to demonstrate their
stand against the dismantling of BIR. Their demands include a 6.5 months
separation package requiring government to pay them P 12 billion. The
other group is the Philippine Association of Revenue District Offices (PARDO).
Word has it that this group is roaming the halls of Congress to gain
support from legislators in trashing both bills.
TAN-PAGC-PCEG Bureau of Customs FGD (Crafting Agency-Specific
Anti-Corruption Agenda)
The third focus group discussion held last January 16, 2003, at the
Nolledo Hernandez Room of the Manila Peninsula served as a venue for the
announcement of the action plans undertaken by Commissioner Antonio
Bernardo to address the issues and concerns of the people from the
business sector. The commissioner gladly reported that he already has
submitted to President Arroyo several revenue enhancement measures.
According to the commissioner, the first tranche of reforms to be
undergone by the Bureau of Customs include the notices of closure of 320
inactive warehouses suspected of being conduits for smuggling. The
Custom’s data system will no longer accept warehousing entries from
warehouses with expired licenses. Another measure is the conversion of
customs bonded warehouses to industry based warehouses. The commissioner
also reported that there was already a study conducted at the bureau on
shortening the process of Customs transactions.
There already exist a compact disc, which is a compilation of the CMOs
from 1972 until the first quarter of 2002, which is also made available
to the public. With regards to the review of the CMOs, the commissioner
suggested to constitute a panel and appoint two or three lawyers from
BOC and lawyers from the business sector to analyze which CMOs are
useless and irrelevant to import-dependent exporters. In this review
meeting, the Makati Business Club was asked to act as convenor.
The issues raised during the meeting include the too much restriction on
the movement of goods, the tracking of consigned equipments, lacking of
check and balance in post-auditing done by the bureau, but most of the
problems raised during the FGD fall under the selectivity process. The
commissioner promised to take further actions regarding the selectivity
process as soon as he finish the issue on warehouses.
It was agreed upon that the fourth FGD on the bureau will be on February
18, 2003. The time and venue is to be announced.
Pagbabago@Pilipinas launches CD
Last February 10 pagbabago@pilipinas launched its audio compact disc
called simply "pagbabago" during a modest ceremony in the Filipinas
Heritage Library. The event was organized as a "trade launch", gathering
the artists, producers, talent managers, and record company executives,
to thank them for the time and effort they contributed to the creation
of the album.
During her speech, songwriter Trina Belamide, pagbabago member and
overall producer of the album, thanked the industry participants for
donating their time, effort, and resources for the album. She summarized
the messages of the 12 songs on the album coming from artists as varied
as Regine Velasquez and Mystica, all of which speak about values and the
need for change. In the opening track, "Ako Na", for example, Regine
Velasquez sings to a techno-pop beat about the need for individuals to
get involved. The song includes "talkies", or testimonials from
individuals who talk about the need to be a part of the solution and not
the problem.
On hand to sing their cuts on the album were Renz Verano ("Kadudu-duda
Ka") and Radha ("Owe You Nothin'"). Renz Verano's rock-ballad questions
the motives or sincerity of people who seem to treat some well but
others poorly ("'Di ko kasi maintindihan/Kung paano mo nagawang saktan/Ang
ibang mga tao/Mabait ka man sa tulad ko"). Radha gave a soulful
performance of her cut which addresses the "utang na loob" concept. She
sings about being grateful, but at the same time not pushing it too far
("How can I respect you/You've twisted the idea of gratitude/You expect
too much in return"). Also present during the ceremonies were Grace Nono,
Bob Aves, Jolina Magdangal, and South Border.
The album includes songs from the APO, Jolina Magdangal, South Border,
The CompanY, Grace Nono, Aegis, Da Pulis (featuring Anya Santos), and
Jaya and is available at all Oddysey records stores nationwide. Proceeds
of the album will go to fund the various projects and initiatives of
pagbabago @pilipinas. For more information you can contact pagbabago at
pagbabagopilipinas@yahoo.com or visit their website at http://pagbabago.tripod.com.
Right to Information Project
Last November 2002, the ATIN bill on access to official information was
finalized through a consultative process participated in by the ATIN
network members, which includes pagbabago@Pilipinas, also a member of
TAN.
In December 2002, ATIN had a dialogue with legislators on access to
information. The dialogue-forum sought to get feedback from legislators
who authored similar bills on access to information. For 2003, ATIN’s
strategy will focus on a 6-month legislative advocacy and public
information program. This would include meetings with possible support
groups such as the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and
Development Foundation, Inc. The group will also meet with Senator
Francisco Pangilinan’s Chief of Staff to discuss advocacy strategies
geared towards the passage of a right to information bill in the Senate.
On March 2003, ATIN will hold a workshop on the international
limitations on access to information.
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