Practices of Philippine Government Agencies in Shopping and Small Value Procurement

Abstract

This study determined the practices of Philippine government agencies in shopping and small value procurement (SVP) and identified areas requiring improvement as a basis for a proposed training design. A descriptive research design was employed among 100 selected Bids and Awards Committee members from national government offices, government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and local government units (LGUs). Data were gathered through a validated researcher-made questionnaire adapted and modified from the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9184. The instrument consisted of 20 shopping-practice items and 20 SVP-practice items. Ranking, median, Kruskal-Wallis test, and post-hoc Mann-Whitney U test were used at the .05 level of significance. The most prevalent shopping practices included the presence of an approved Annual Procurement Plan (APP), an approved purchase request, the timely issuance of a purchase order to the winning bidder, the preparation of an abstract of quotations, and PhilGEPS posting of purchase orders above the applicable threshold. The most prevalent SVP practices similarly emphasized the approved APP, purchase request, abstract of quotations, timely issuance of purchase orders, and PhilGEPS posting. Significant differences among agency types were found in selected shopping practices involving requests for quotation, supplier documentation, obtaining responsive suppliers, monitoring extensions in PhilGEPS, and BAC-member presence during RFQ opening. For SVP, a significant difference was found in monitoring extensions in the submission of RFQs through PhilGEPS. The findings indicate generally strong observance of foundational procurement requirements but uneven implementation of selected procedural controls. A focused capacity-building program is recommended to strengthen compliance, consistency, accountability, and transparency.