The New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in 2024, is designed to combat corrupt practices by requiring the disclosure of beneficial ownership information in the procurement process.
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary and Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Chairperson Amenah “Mina” F. Pangandaman explained that under the new procurement law, bidders, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, contractors, and consultants are required to disclose their beneficial ownership information through an online registry, which is accessible to the public. In public procurement, identifying beneficial owners helps in preventing conflicts of interest and monopolies.
“With beneficial ownership, makikita natin, even ng taumbayan, ‘yung background ng isang merchant, ng isang company, ng isang bidder, kung ano ba talaga ‘yung ginagawa ng company na ‘yun. There will be a portal that we will create and it is open to the public, for everyone, to use,” Sec. Mina shared during a press conference on the sidelines of the East Asia and the Pacific International Public Procurement Conference on Monday, 28 April 2025.
“Ang malaking bagay na maitutulong po, ang maiiwasan natin ay ‘yung monopolistic [practices]. Maiiwasan po, kumbaga, magkakaroon po ng fairness. ‘Yan po ‘yung bottomline po dito. Magkakaroon po ng equal opportunity – kahit maliit man o malaking korporasyon para sa public procurement na makasali po sila,” GPPB-Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO) Officer-in-Charge Atty. Maria Dionesia Rivera-Guillermo said, expounding the advantages of the NGPA.
The NGPA defines beneficial owners as natural persons who: 1) ultimately own the corporation; 2) dominantly influence the management or policies of the corporation; or 3) exercise ultimate effective control over the corporation.
“Ano po ba ang mangyayari kapag nakita or nalaman kung sino ‘yung beneficial owner participating in the bidding? Meron po tayong conflict of interest permission. Kapag po ang bidder na sumali ay may relasyon within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity doon po sa head of the procuring entities, sa members po ng bank, sa members po ng technical working group, sa consultants po ng procuring agency at doon sa lahat po ng involved sa procurement, disqualified po ‘yun,” Procurement Service-DBM (PS-DBM) Executive Director Atty. Genmaries Entredicho-Caong pointed out.
Aside from the disclosure of beneficial ownership, the NGPA, touted as the biggest anti-corruption measure in the country’s recent history, enhances transparency and strengthens accountability by introducing key features such as open contracting, leveraging the latest digital technologies, and including public participation component in government procurement.
