Bill promoting eco-friendly procurement gets House nod

This bill is consistent with the country’s commitment to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (File Photo: House of Representatives of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved on final reading an eco-friendly measure that seeks to establish a green public procurement program for all branches of government.

With 232 affirmative votes, the chamber approved House Bill 6468, otherwise known as the Green Public Procurement (GPP) Act, which aims to promote the culture of making green, sustainable and informed decisions in government through sustainable production and consumption.

This bill is consistent with the country’s commitment to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., the principal author of the bill, said the proposal also supports the 12th Sustainable Development Goal, which is “Sustainable Consumption and Production” that encourages the government departments, bureaus and agencies to procure goods with reduced damage to the environment.

“Through this policy, governments can drive innovation and provide the industry with incentives to develop green products and services. Studies have also shown that green public procurement may provide financial savings for government purchasers considering the full lifecycle costs of a procurement contract,” Villafuerte said.

Under the bill, a GPP Program must be established in all branches of government to achieve sustainable consumption and production in government procurement in accordance with the GPP Roadmap.

All agencies must comply with the green criteria provided by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), along with the other technical specifications required by the agency for the particular procurement.

The measure mandates the GPPB to protect the national interest in all matters affecting public procurement, giving due regard to the country’s regional and international obligations and to ensure the incorporation of the concept of sustainability in the procurement activities of the government, among others.

It is likewise given the task to develop incentive schemes to increase motivation and catalyze action for better performance and environmental stewardship and to establish standard monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to measure the compliance of procuring entities to the criteria.

All agencies are required to submit their respective GPP Programs to the GPPB, which in turn, shall submit an annual report to the Committee on Sustainable Development Goals of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking of the Senate on the compliance of the different agencies with the provisions the law.

The GPPB is also authorized to identify competent third-party verifiers that will assess the environmental soundness and sustainability of the CSE and non-CSE that will be procured.

Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman earlier cited the importance of implementing innovative and sustainable initiatives to achieve public procurement efficiency.