Provincial Local Government Units (PLGUs) in the Region were assisted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) XII in the formulation of their Customized Provincial Procurement Operations Manual (CPPOM) during a follow-through activity held on October 28 to 31, 2019 at Eighty Eight Hotel, Koronadal City.

CPPOM is one of the major deliverables of PLGUs under the Governance Reform of the Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) Program.

“Procurement is one of the identified reform areas,  and the formulation of CPPOM is among the major deliverables of the Provincial Local Government Units to provide clear, concise, and accurate information of goods and services, and carry them out in a manner described in the Procurement Plan,” said Mr. Muhammad Farzieh Abutazil, DILG XII Planning Officer during his opening message on behalf of the DILG XII Regional Director Josephine Cabrido-Leysa, CESO V.

Procurement Specialist, Ms. Aida N Carpentero, served as a resource speaker for the said activity and presented the detailed content of the CPPOM to the participants composed of members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and secretariat from the four provinces.

"CPPOM is an important tool to address the peculiarity of procurement at the LGU level. It aims to institutionalize the procurement processes in the provinces in accordance with RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and its 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations effective last Oct 26, 2016,” she said.

This will also help define the process flow in procurement which can also minimize or eradicate delays because of poor planning. Moreover, the CPPOM would avoid confusion among end-users, she added.

The provinces are set to finalize and submit their manuals to DILG before the end of November.

Before the follow-through activity, only the provinces of Sarangani and Cotabato have started the formulated their CPPOM, ready for revision and approval of their respective Legislative Departments. South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces have yet to formulate their manuals.