MMSU and the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) have started offering the Certified Public Procurement Specialist Course in the Ilocos region in order to establish a sustainable training program among government employees involved in procurement activities.

The GPPB is an independent inter-agency body that is impartial, transparent and effective, with private sector representation, and was established through Republic Act 9184.

The training, which started here in November 7-15 at the university's FEM Hall Conference Room and Function Hall, was attended by the secretariat and technical working groups of the Bids and Awards Committees (BACs) of MMSU, the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH-MC) in this city, and those from the University of Northern Philippines (UNP) in Ilocos Sur, Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) in La Union, and Pangasinan State University (PSU) in Pangasinan.

The program, according to MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis, which initially runs for two years, has three levels -- Basic (Level I), Intermediate (Level II), and Advance (Level III). 

MMSU was selected by the GPPB last year as the delivering institution for the course in Region 1.

Last year, the two institutions have entered into a memorandum of agreement which was signed by Dr. Agrupis and GPPB Chairman Benjamin E. Diokno in Malacañang, Manila.

In the basic level, the participants shall learn the procurement's principles and practices as well as its legal and administrative environment, organization framework, ethical standards, planning and procedures for goods and services, preparation of bidding documents, and contract management and administration; and the functionalities of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS).

The MMSU president thanked the GPPB for choosing the university as its partner in training government employees to become efficient and effective in implementing RA 9184 or the procurement law.

"This is one thing that we should commend the Duterte administration because it means business in implementing honest, transparent, effective and efficient management of our resources in the government," Dr. Agrupis said, noting that MMSU was selected as the school which offers the course in Region 1, because of its academic programs that are parallel to the content of the training course.

"That is the reason why GPPB partnered with some institutions like MMSU because it cannot implement the training program solely because of the big number of government procurement entities across the country,” she explained.

She, too, congratulated the participants in the training program hoping that they would surpass all the levels of the course and become certified public procurement specialists someday.

Trainers were Atty. Rowena Candice M. Ruiz, executive director of the GPPB - Technical Support Office (TSO); Nenita A. Failon, retired regional director of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in Region I; Estrella E. Mandap, the present regional director of DBM I; Richard Kinnud of Benguet State University; Ryan Milanes of DBM; and Joanna Makalinaw of PhilGEPS.