MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed into law the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) and the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) just days before his 3rd State of the Nation Address.
On Saturday, July 20, Marcos Jr. said these “moves us closer to attaining a strong, more responsive, and efficient bureaucracy and to establishing safeguards for the financial rights and welfare of every Filipino.”
Both are priority measures of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council.
With the NGPA, the process for government sourcing will be shortened to 60 days from 3 months. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the NGPA will help “address existing loopholes” by directly targeting illegal practices that give windows to corruption.
Sourcing goods and services for government agencies will now also be done through electronic means.
Under the new law, government agencies may choose from 11 procurement options and will have a uniform set of procurement forms. It also introduces the “Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid,” which allows the government to judge a bid based on the quality of the offer and not just on its price.
“This frees us from the obligation of selecting the lowest priced bid, when there is a better choice,” Marcos said. “This will ensure that we get not only the best prices but the best deals for our clients, the Filipino people.”
Tighter security measures for banking
Amid the constant barrage of online scams targeting Filipinos, the AFASA requires banks and other financial institutions to implement necessary security measures and fraud management systems to secure accounts.
“This law authorizes the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to investigate and inquire into financial accounts that may be involved in the commission of prohibited acts and to apply for cybercrime warrants [for] electronic communications used in any violation of this measure,” Marcos said.
This means that the BSP gets a free pass from laws on bank secrecy and data privacy when it comes to investigating bank accounts, e-wallets, and other financial accounts suspected to be involved in crimes.
“This will help us strengthen consumer protection and foster trust and confidence in the Philippine financial system,” the BSP said in a statement on Saturday.
Data from January to August 2023 showed that Filipinos have lost at least P155.20 million because of scams and digital fraud. According to the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, the most common scams used to target Filipinos are:
- Online selling scam (3,615 complaints)
- Investment scam (911 complaints)
- ATM fraud/phishing (821 complaints)
- Call scam/vishing (635 complaints)
- Employment scam (606 complaints)
- Loan scam (562 complaints)
- Package scam (533 complaints)
- Profile hijacking (358 complaints)
- Accommodation scam (302 complaints)
- Love scam (266 complaints)
However, actual figures could be higher as some fraud incidents are not reported to authorities. – with reports from Lance Spencer Yu/Rappler.com