POLICY GUIDELINES ON THE PURCHASE OF SERVICES

1. INTRODUCTION

The DSWD is faced with the challenge to meet the demands for more
innovative and effective delivery of social welfare and development
programs/services. It is in this light that the Department recognizes
and seeks to engage the knowledge, expertise and resources of
organizations/ individuals in support of this endeavor.

One of the major groups that may be utilized in providing assistance
to the Department’s implementation of its programs, are the
non-governmental, community-based, or sectoral organizations. For the
past years, it is noted that there has been a marked increase in their
active participation in the promotion of the welfare of the nation. The
partnership with these organizations is encouraged in Section 23,
Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution and institutionalized
further in RA 7160 or the Local Government Code. To further encourage
and strengthen this partnership, their services may be purchased in
enhancing further the Department’s work for the welfare and development
of the nation.

2. GENERAL GUIDELINES

The following are the general guidelines for the purchase of services for social welfare and development purposes:

2.1.      Prerequisites For Allowing the Purchase of Services.
The purchase of services shall be done for projects included in the
Work and Financial Plan of the Department under any of the following
circumstances:

2.1.1.       It is more cost effective and/or efficient to purchase services;

2.1.2.       The job to be undertaken or service needed is not
within the area of the competence/specialization of the agency but is
necessary to respond to the needs of the Department, e.g., construction
of buildings, professional services of lawyer, psychiatrist, etc.;

2.1.3.       The bureau/office may have the necessary competence
or the special skills required, but may be inadequate to cover the total
requirements;

2.1.4.       To augment existing delivery of social services;

2.1.5.       There exists a situation where material time and/or
manpower to perform the job is insufficient to meet the deadline, e.g.,
researches;

2.2       Assessment Process. The unit requesting the
purchase of service shall prepare the Terms of Reference which shall be
the basis of the project proposal, and shall follow standard operating
procedures, observing the COA and other government Rules and
Regulations.

2.3       Minimum Standard Requirements. The minimum requirements/ criteria for the selection of the organization/s or individual/s are the following:

2.3.1 NGOs must be duly licensed and accredited by DSWD. Other
private organizations must be registered with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). For individuals, he/she must be a
licensed/accredited practitioner of his/her profession, e.g. lawyer,
psychiatrist, researcher;

2.3.2 Must have good track record, adequate manpower, resources and/or technical expertise to implement the projects;

2.3.3.       Must comply strictly to the Terms of Reference (TOR)
or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) as agreed by both the NGO individual
and the Department;

2.4       Memorandum of Agreement. Once the
organization/individual has been identified, the transaction should be
consummated through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) which should
indicate expectations and responsibilities of each party, period covered
and submission of required output and monitoring reports, costs and
other pertinent provisions.

2.5       Fund Releases. Fund releases for the purchase of
services shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Memorandum of
Agreement and the COA Rules and Regulations:

2.6       Project Completion. Upon completion of the
project, a joint evaluation and completion report of the
service/project/program shall be conducted by the Unit/Bureau/Office
concerned and the organization/individual.

This Order shall take effect immediately.

Adopted: 16 Sept. 1997

(SGD.) LINA B. LAIGO
Secretary