Namfrel turns into monitoring body for DOH, DepEd procurements

Though it did not actively participate in the Aug. 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) has kept its hands full by embarking on a new mission – monitoring the procurement of government agencies – as part of its continuing advocacy against graft and corruption in government.

According to Namfrel chairperson Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, the group is now assisting the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) in the procurement and delivery of medicine and textbooks.

“Namfrel will always collaborate with the efforts of government agencies in their pursuit of removing graft and corruption, as DepEd and DOH provide the most basic services to our people – and Namfrel is there to make sure that they do,” she said.

Namfrel is known for conducting “quick counts” during elections, enabling the public to know the election results – albeit unofficial – as quickly as possible.

Namfrel is an original member of the consortium of civil society organizations that assist DepEd in its textbook monitoring program.

De Villa said Namfrel volunteers are deployed to conduct inspection of textbooks at the suppliers’ warehouses and monitor their delivery to all school divisions and districts.

The project was launched five years ago and has resulted in the lowering of textbook costs by 50 percent and deficiency in delivery by five percent, they said.

Namfrel also takes part in DepEd’s “Textbook Walk” project wherein volunteers and companies organize themselves to supplement the department’s system of bringing textbooks and other instructional materials to recipient schools.

De Villa added that with the DOH, Namfrel sits as one of two observers from the non-government sector to monitor the agency’s procurement and distribution of medicine.

The group also sits in the DOH’s Integrity Development Committee that is tasked to come up with a database of prices of medicine procured by the department to forestall corrupt practices. – Sheila Crisostomo