Makabayan lawmakers seek abolition of PS-DBM

Lawmakers belonging to the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives have refiled a measure seeking the abolition of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management.

Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list, Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel have filed House Bill No. 3270, saying PS-DBM had been a breeding ground for corruption, inefficiency, and negligence in government.

"The directive of the 1987 Constitution to maintain honesty, integrity, and transparency in public service and the Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, which mandates all procurement entities to establish a single Bids and Awards Committee, have made the PS-DBM archaic and irrelevant," the lawmakers said.

"Worse, it became a breeding ground for graft, corruption, inefficiency, and negligence of the duties of other government agencies. Thus, this bill seeks to abolish the DBM-PS," they added.

In a statement, Castro said the DBM-PS was supposed to be an agency that shopped for equipment and supplies for the government.

"Now, it seems that the DBM-PS has become a 'one stop, corruption shop'," Castro said citing questioned transactions with the Department of Health (DOH), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Department of Education (DepEd)," Castro said.

"It is high time that this, and the policy and practice in which the one approving the budget is also the one later using it for purchase should be stopped," she added.

GMA News Online has sought comment from the PS-DBM but had yet to receive any of posting time. —Llanesca T. Panti/NB, GMA News