Koronadal City— South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo, Jr. made his time to attend a High-Level Seminar on Increasing Transparency and Integrity in Public Procurement in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals last September 9-10, 2019 at Centara Grand Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.
Tamayo moved one step further in committing transparency in government purchases to receive “better deals for the government, provides a level playing field for the private sector, and high-quality goods and services for citizens.”
“We adopt open-contracting to builds trust and ensures that the money spent by governments result in better services, goods, and infrastructure projects,” he said.
As of the present, the Provincial Government of South Cotabato improved the quality of information, especially on programs, projects, services, and project monitoring reports.
Hydee Templonuevo, Information Division Officer-In-Charge, said that part of the Open Information Commitment of South Cotabato is to provide an interactive online platform for the general public to access, view, save and print government data and information about the provincial government.
“The special feature of this is for the public to contribute feedback on government services and programs,” Templonuevo said.
The commitment employs technology through the development of the Integrated Provincial Online Database (IPOD) for the public to access information anywhere and anytime, even at home.
The central provincial online database includes information about mining operations, procurement and contracting deals, and local legislation.
The governor said the initiatives follow the Duterte administration directives on full disclosure and transparency in public service.
“We wanted that all South Cotabateno’s are fully engaged and empowered,” Tamayo added.