This came at a good time for the former mayor of Manila who has a spotless record in public service. For his efforts to help an employee in trouble, Atienza has been regarded by the general public with baseless suspicion especially that the employee himself, in an effort to look good, has decided to turn against the government and to try to destroy those whom he had originally begged to help him evade testifying before the Senate. Despite the demolition job on Atienza, however, he has definitely placed a feather in the country’s and the government’s caps with the World Bank citation.

The WB’s high rating was based on the following: the quality of notices published and associated documents. The WB also notes that all suppliers or bidders were duly registered and that bid documents could be downloaded online. The participating bidders were also clearly identified and the actual awards were duly posted immediately from the closing date.

Atienza said that while the DENR had made a good start at the central level, there remains the more challenging part of mainstreaming the reforms to all DENR bureaus and field offices. He urged the private sector and civil society groups to help the government push reforms in the procurement process.

"The DENR will not let go of what it has started and will ensure that adequate resources are provided in implementing the law. Hindi ito ningas kugon. Matagal ng naiinip ang mga tao sa totoong reporma at ito na ang pagkakataon upang isagawa ang pagbabago sa sistema," Atienza said.

In doing his job, Atienza is helped by the fact that his former service as a city mayor gives him an insight into the problems created for local officials by rules and regulations dictated by central government agencies. In fact, he goes out of his way to bring in the locals whenever there are DENR projects in the local LGU’s territory.

Another thing that makes procurement easier to do is R.A. 9184, otherwise known as the Philippine Procurement Law signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in January 2003. The law was designed to streamline the government’s procurement system, reduce opportunities for graft and corruption, harmonize the system with international standards and practices, and promote transparency, competitiveness and accountability. R.A. 9184 also provides penalties and sanctions for those found guilty of corruption.

Last month, the World Bank started conducting a review of DENR’s National Program Support for Environment and Natural Resources to find out how the agency has complied with procurement reforms initiated by the Government Policy Procurement Board (GPPB). The DENR was among government agencies that agreed to be pilot- tested and customized for the Generic Procurement Manual.

The World Bank review team subsequently found the DENR to have the highest rating of compliance among six agencies, and immediately congratulated Secretary Atienza for the achievement recorded in its aide memoire.

According to the World Bank, among the critical and important measures put in place by DENR to curb corruption in procurement are 1) adoption of anti-corruption and transparency measures, 2) creation of an internal audit service, 3) creation of a procurement unit, 4) inclusion of civil society representatives in bids and awards committees, and 5) posting of procurement opportunities and contract award at the government online site PhilGEPS.

It is worth a lot that the WB has cited a government office for the good work that it is doing even as Secretary Atienza finds himself in the eye of a political storm over the accusations of an officer of an attached GOCC who has set out to malign all of those who have gone out of their way to help him in his problems of having to testify in the Senate.

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The First Leg of the San Miguel Corporation’s Senior Golf Tournaments which is a series of six tournaments in member-clubs of the Federation of Philippine Amateur Golfers, Inc. will be held at the Orchard Golf and Country Club on Thursday, March 27.

Tee-off will be at 7 a.m. As in all FPASGI tournaments, there will be fabulous raffle prizes as well as individual age groups and team competitions.

The seniors of Orchard which styles itself as the Y.O.U.N.G. organized the first leg to note the 10th year of its existence as a seniors chapter of the FPASGI