Government Procurement.
Section 26
SEC. 26. Government Procurement. — Public procurement shall be conducted in accordance with Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the "Government Procurement Reform Act" and its implementing rules and regulations (IRE). To help stimulate innovation in the country, the NIC shall coordinate with the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) and its technical support office for the development and issuance of public procurement guidelines, as authorized under Republic Act No. 9184 and its IRR, covering the following: (a) Innovative Goods and Services — Requirements for innovative goods and services shall be identified, together with the clear output specifications, as well as functional or performance criteria. The guidelines shall also allow project-based competition to encourage participants to develop innovative solutions; (b) Pre-Commercia3 Procurement — Government agencies are mandated to determine their long-term needs towards encouraging the development of innovative solutions in areas for which solutions are not currently available. Procurement contracts of this nature will involve a multi-stage process: and (c) Technology Diffusion Procurement - The government may aggregate demand and initiate a technology procurement process to promote technology diffusion and market transformation. The guidelines to be issued by the NIC, in coordination with the GPPB for this purpose, shall ensure efficiency, transparencj', timeliness and relevance in the procurement process.