decision support

(This article and the manuscript were submitted by the research team and may be updated in the future)

Education has always been a “primary commodity” in the Philippines. With the implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (Republic Act 10931), State Universities and Colleges (SUC) in the country are now mandated to provide free education to all tertiary students enrolled in their programs. Because of this, about 3.2 million college students were reported to enroll in the year 2018 alone [1] and this number is expected to double due to the implementation of the said law.

The Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic to Tertiary Education

The current COVID-19 has crippled the delivery of tertiary education in the country. Nationwide suspension of classes from all levels was hence declared as a mitigation measure to control and contain the spread of COVID-19 across all regions in the country. As a result, a temporary academic freeze has been widely observed from March 2020 until July 2020. This has been the case since various SUCs in the country are still addressing the unresolved dilemma of balancing safety and delivery of quality education to all SUC stakeholders upon resumption of classes in August 2020.

The COVID-19 Challenge to Resumption of Classes

With the sense of urgency to resume all classes despite the COVID-19 situation in the country, it has been widely suggested that face-to-face classes be shifted to online modes of learning this August 2020 [2]. This proposed transition, however, has been met with a huge resistance by various faculty, administrative staff, and college students. In the banner “#NoStudentLeftBehind”, online classes have been dubbed as “anti-poor” and “education solely for the privileged” [3].

As recent facts stated, only 17% of college students have been reported to have the capacity to connect to the internet wherein only 5% of such students have stable internet connectivity at home [3]. With these cited facts, it is expected that enrollment to SUCs this academic year would plunge to at least 70% [4]. Shifting then to purely online modes of learning this August 2020, hence, may not be feasible given the present
situation of college students in the country.

Readiness of College Students for Online Learning – The Case of Bicol Region

Through the research grant given by Layertech Software Labs, Inc. and Hivos – People Unlimited, a group of faculty researchers from Bicol University College of Engineering (BUCENG) conducted a feasibility study solely focusing on this present dilemma. The capacity of SUCs and their students, hence, to undertake this proposed transition to online classes this August 2020 were thus reported to be comprehensively studied. In a pilot study conducted in the nine (9) SUCs in Region V, 160 (about 60%) of the 242 college students who willingly participated in a survey conducted from June-July 2020 were reported to have a monthly household income below PHP25,000. Even prior to the pandemic, about 60% of these students largely rely on cellular phones to accomplish academic tasks given to them and this
represented a recurring monthly expense of PHP1,000 on cellular data alone. It was also reported that this observed expense is expected to at least double when online classes are implemented this August 2020. With these facts, it is without a doubt that these less privileged college students will have the most disadvantage if a purely online mode of learning is implemented upon the resumption of classes this August 2020.

Assessment of SUC EATing patterns – The Case of Bicol Region

With these described evidences, enabling college students to undertake the proposed online transition would then largely rely on the capacity of SUCs to deliver quality education through the said modes of learning this August 2020.

With the goal of assessing the nine (9) SUCs in the Bicol Region within the context of Education Access in Tenders (EAT), the same group of researchers from BUCENG looked closely into the information technology (IT) related procurement activities of such SUCs from the period 2016-2020. Upon a comprehensive evaluation of the collected contracts, these researchers reported two categories classifying the capacity of SUCs in Bicol Region to successfully implement the proposed online transition, namely “fully capable” and “partially capable”. “Fully capable” SUCs were reported to have largely invested on computer servers, internet coverage and bandwidth, library and learning managements systems, subscription to online databases, and acquisition of software for research and instructional use. These capabilities, as reported by these researchers, corresponded to an equivalent investment amounting to PHP241.19 million.

In contrast, while “partially capable” SUCs were reported to be to financially secure such investments, no relevant awarded IT tenders from 2016-2020 necessary to ensure effective implementation of the proposed online transition were found for such SUCs.

Collectively, seven (7) of the nine (9) SUCs in Bicol Region were seen to be “fully capable” of implementing online classes this August 2020. Though these reported findings implied that the Bicol Region as a whole is seen to effectively implement the proposed online transition, the EATing patterns of the remaining two (2) SUCs which cater to the majority of at least 3000 enrolled college students in the region indicated that much still needs to be done to ensure all college students, regardless of privilege, be given a fair and equal access to quality tertiary education. The researchers then strongly recommended that SUCs classified as “partially capable” benchmark on the IT related procurement strategies that of “fully capable” SUCs.

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References:
[1] https://www.onenews.ph/college-enrollment-may-plunge-by-up-to-70-percent-officials-warn
[2] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/
[3] https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/online-classes-anti-poor-unstable-due-to-internet-in-the-philippines-
%E2%80%94rep-salceda/ar-BB13yXqR
[4] https://www.onenews.ph/college-enrollment-may-plunge-by-up-to-70-percent-officials-warn

(This article and the manuscript were submitted by the research team and may be updated in the future)

As of July 22, 2020, a total of 72,269 total COVID-19 cases has been reported, of which 46,803 are still classified as active cases [1]. With this continual rise of COVID-19 cases, it is estimated that this would cost about PHP2.2 trillion economic losses and is equivalent to at least a 2% contraction in the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of the country [2]. As a consequence of this economic loss, about 26% of businesses operating in the country have already closed [3] resulting to about 100,000 Filipinos losing their jobs in the 1st half of 2020 [4] Indeed, there is an immediate need to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country to further mitigate the impact of the said disease to the Filipino people.

Fastracking the Public Procurement Process

The COVID-19 crisis in the country is a race against time. As seen from the success stories of our neighboring ASEAN countries, fast, efficient, and integral procurement played a crucial role in securing a “COVID-free” nationwide status. In response to this sense of urgency brought about the by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) recently issued a series of resolutions to shift current publicly held procurement related to COVID-19 into negotiated procurement (emergency cases) and relax existing guidelines on the submission of vital bid documents [5]-[8]. For instance, expired business or mayor permits and unnotarized bid documents submitted by eligible bidders could already be accepted under these new GPPB issuances.

Challenge on Procurement Integrity and Transparency

While it is necessary to fastrack public procurement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is equally important to ensure integral and transparent implemented procurement processes to protect the interest of the Filipino people. Considered as one of the most vulnerable to corruption especially in this time of an emerging health crisis, relaxation of the imposed regulations is seen to compromise the overall integrity of the present public bidding processes. The acceptance of unnotarized bid documents, for instance, could promulgate misrepresentation on the capacity of an eligible bidder to faithfully undertake any contractual obligations if such barriers are removed.

REACT Risk Indexing System

Through a research grant given by Layertech Software Labs, Inc. and Hivos – People Unlimited, a group of faculty researchers from Bicol University College of Engineering looked closely into this present dilemma. Considering that shortening the time needed in awarding government contracts is of utmost priority, a rapid evaluator and assessor of contractor traits (REACT) risk indexing system was proposed and investigated as an intervening and supplemental tool to aid in upholding the integrity of the presently changed public procurement process on construction and infrastructure tenders related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using historical data periodically published by GPPB, assessment of an eligibility of a contractor based on its previous performance was further simplified by these researchers. Through REACT, three general classification of contractors were reported namely, “low risk”, “moderate risk”, and “high risk”. Contractors that were classified as “low risk” in the
proposed risk indexing system were found to be the most eligible as these contractors were reported to have at most an average negative slippage of 7.5%. In accordance to the findings reported by these researchers, it was further suggested that necessary precautions and scrutiny be exercised to those contractors that would be classified as “moderate risk” and “high risk” contractors since these contractors were found to have an average negative slippage of at least 24.9% which is well beyond the acceptable negative slippage of 15%.

Indeed, as presented in the case study of the proposed REACT risk indexing system to the publicly available historical data of contractors in Region V, the applicability of the proposed system to preserve integrity of the presently relaxed public procurement process has been validated.

With the validation of the efficacy of the proof of concept as reported by the researchers, the proposed REACT risk indexing system is seen to be a plausible data-driven solution in light of the challenges in the public procurement process amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

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References:
[1] https://www.doh.gov.ph/covid19tracker
[2] https://business.inquirer.net/298536/p2-2-trillion-in-losses-cost-of-covid-19-impact-on-ph-economy
[3] https://mb.com.ph/2020/07/16/closure-of-26-of-ph-businesses-alarms-dti/#:~:text=Of%20the%202%2C135%20companies%20surveyed,status%20of%20business%20around%20the
[4] https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1297196/dole-close-to-100000-lost-jobs-in-jan-june
[5] https://www.gppb.gov.ph/issuances/Resolutions/GPPB%20Resolution%20No.%2003-2020.pdf
[6] https://www.gppb.gov.ph/issuances/Resolutions/GPPB%20Resolution%20No.%2005-2020.pdf
[7] https://www.gppb.gov.ph/issuances/Resolutions/GPPB%20Resolution%20No.%2006-2020.pdf
[8] https://www.gppb.gov.ph/issuances/Resolutions/GPPB%20Resolution%20No.%2009-2020%20with%20SGD.pdf

SUC EATing patterns: Crucial indicators for an effective implementation of online modes of learning

A proper REACTion in securing integrity on the public bidding of construction and infrastructure tenders amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

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