A. Project Title: Mitigating Integrity Risks in Public Procurement in the Philippines

B. Project Description

            Successive Philippine Administrations have consistently pursued programs to reduce poverty and inequality. The amount of government spending has increased significantly over the period 2011-2015 largely because of improved revenue collection and fiscal reforms. The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has accelerated this spending program, particularly through the mantra “build, build, build”. However, absorptive capacity of government agencies has been affected by bottlenecks in the planning, design, pre-execution, procurement, and execution phases of projects with problems in coordination within and between national government agencies and issues also with local government capacity. A critical issue, therefore, is the effective management of public procurement that underpins the Administration’s Development Agenda.

            The legal framework for public procurement in the Philippines is notably strong: the passage of the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) or RA 9184 in 2003 ended the era of fragmented procurement regulation which had enabled leakages. Still, public procurement continues to suffer from frequent delays (e.g., bid failures) as well as corruption scandals (e.g., bid riggings), both of which hamper the timely and effective delivery of public services. Systemic reform and capacity building are needed to support government plans to boost public spending to meet its development goals.

            A Rapid Assessment has been pursued on the last quarter of 2017 to help inform the process of strengthening institutions for public procurement. The Rapid Assessment conducted diagnosed the integrity risks in public procurement and the management of public finances in order to develop a collective agenda for improving public service delivery.  It provided relevant information emanating from the series of dialogues conducted among key stakeholders on these integrity risks and broader Public Financial Management (PFM) and service delivery issues; and likewise provided recommendations for a capacity development action plan for improving service delivery.

            The engagement of a Technical Advisor for Citizen Participation in PFM is needed to contribute to the initiative of UNDP to strengthen the public procurement system of the Philippines and deepen integrity and effective delivery of services.

C. Scope of Work

Under the guidance and daily supervision of the Project Manager and in coordination with UNDP Senior Management, the Consultant shall:

1.    Develop and finalize the Public Financial Management (PFM) Roadmap on Citizen Participation;

2.    Formulate and prepare the provisions relative to the Section on Transparency and Participation in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Budget Modernization Bill;

3.    Provide technical and policy coordination towards the re-establishment of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Open Government Partnership (OGP) Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Desk;

4.    Coordinate with PFM and OGP Secretariat to gather baseline reports and relevant documents on the degree of CSO participation in the Budget Process across government;

5.    Provide technical and policy coordination towards the establishment of the Inter-Agency Fiscal Openness Working Group;

6.    Closely coordinate with other consultants engaged in this project and duly submit the needed reports as agreed during the duration of the engagement.

D. Expected Output and Deliverables

            The Individual Contractor is expected to accomplish the following activities with corresponding deliverables:

E. Institutional Arrangements

1.    The UNDP Project Manager will provide overall guidance on this assignment;

2.    The Individual Contractor shall work with DBM, specifically under the guidance of Office of the Undersecretary for Budget Policy and Strategy Group;

3.    UNDP will be responsible to organize meetings with the all relevant stakeholders and provide logistical support, as needed.

4.    UNDP Philippines shall be entitled to intellectual property and other proprietary rights over all materials that have direct relation to the project.

F. Duration of Work

            The Contractor will be engaged from 15 August 2019 to 30 March 2020 unless revised in a mutually agreed upon timetable by Deputy Resident Representative and the Contractor.

G. Duty Station

            The consultancy shall be home based. Though meetings at DBM and UNDP will be required monthly or as needed.

H. Scope of Price Proposal and Schedule of Payments

            The financial proposals from possible candidates shall be expressed in lump sum amount inclusive of all financial costs related to this engagement (i.e., such as transportation/travel to and from residence for meetings within Metro Manila, laptop, communications including internet, etc).

            Payments will be made when specific outputs have been submitted, as outlined below:

Corporate competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional and technical competencies

• Ability to work in a diverse and multi-cultural environment;
• Self-motivated and ability to work under pressure and to meet strict and competing deadlines;
• Displays analytical judgment and demonstrated ability to handle confidential and politically sensitive issues in a responsible and mature manner;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Computer literate.