[When public money is stolen for private gain, it means fewer resources to build schools, hospitals, roads and

water treatment facilities. When foreign aid is diverted into private bank accounts, major infrastructure projects come to a halt. Corruption enables fake or substandard medicines to be dumped on the market, and hazardous waste to be dumped in landfill sites and in oceans. The vulnerable suffer first and worst.] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, International Anti-Corruption Day 2010

Governments and the international community have recognized the importance of an effective, efficient and transparent public procurement system in curbing graft and corruption. In the Philippines, the passage of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) of 2003, institutionalized reforms in a public procurement system characterized as a spawning ground for official corruption [1] But while the legislative enactment was hailed as world class legislation [2], public procurement operations still failed to meet expectations. This is particularly true in the case of local government units (LGUs). According to the 2008 Philippines Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR) [3], public bidding at the LGU level still fails to attain a sufficient level of competitiveness. The report attributed LGUs poor performance to the lack of training programs matching local government demands. This paper documents demonstration project of four pilot cities under the Promoting Procurement Transparency and Efficiency to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (Protect-MDGs) funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and implemented by the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP). These demonstration projects aim to address gaps in procurement practices and operations by strengthening procurement capacities at the barangay level. Barangays as procurement champions The barangay is touted as the frontline unit for combating poverty and addressing basic social services like health and education. However, programs, activities and projects are often equated with barangay hall improvement, new basketball courts, beautification, and other infrastructures that have superficial impact on the communitys economy. [4] New knowledge and skills acquired by duty-bearers The capacity-building intervention models a variety of adult learning technologies including lecture, presentations, simulation and role-playing. The theoretical part involved lectures on the salient provisions of the law.

They were made to appreciate the link between planning and budgeting towards sound procurement operations. Participants were also asked to apply learning content through an Annual Procurement Planning and Project Procurement Management Planning workshop. A separate session was also dedicated to the intricacies of the PhilGeps portal.