So many rules, so little time: Navigating Guam’s procurement maze

 By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

Simon Sanchez High School was the epitome of the government of Guam’s procurement weaknesses. The construction of a new campus in Yigo was first proposed in 2015, but the project repeatedly encountered setbacks. The government issued a solicitation at least four times between 2015 and 2017, but each procurement attempt was stalled by protests, which the Office of Public Accountability attributed to the government’s failure to follow the law.

Last month, the Department of Public Works selected a contractor based on the latest request for proposal issued in March. The fresh round of procurement effort and the outcome of contract negotiations for the Yigo campus will determine if GovGuam has finally gotten it right.

The SSHS construction was among several GovGuam projects that were entangled in procurement challenges at some point.

The public procurement process, which allows the government to purchase goods, hire services and outsource works, is governed by laws and regulations to ensure transparency, accountability and reasonable government spending. The process requires competitive bidding and ethical guidelines.

GovGuam officials and private contractors agree—and lament—that government procurement involves a complex and often frustrating process that can hinder the timely completion of transactions. However, circumventing the law is out of the question.

“Regulations are important, but too many regulations can paralyze a program, a system, an agency, and the government,” Gov. Leon Guerrero said at the Government Procurement Summit hosted by the Guam Chamber of Commerce at the Hyatt Regency Guam on June 12.

Ernie Galito addresses attendees at the Procurement Summit in the Hyatt Regency Guam on June 12, 2025, with Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero featured on the screen. Photo by Mar-Vic Cagurangan

“So how do we balance that out?” the governor asked.

In the private sector, purchasing goods and services does not involve a maze-like bureaucratic exercise.

“Coming from being the president and CEO of Bank of Guam, when I say I want to hire this person, the person is hired the next day. When I say I want to purchase this IT product, the product is purchased within a week,” the governor said. “But when I came to the government and I said ‘I want to hire this person,’ it took three to five months because they have to go through a rigorous regulation of the bureaucracy.”

But skipping the regulations is not an option. “Why? Because we are dealing with the people's money,” the governor said.

Guam’s procurement law was modeled after a code approved by the American Bar Association in 1979. “That's 45 years ago,” Leon Guerrero said. “Our laws sometimes do not meet the realities of the needs. We need to revise our procurement laws that were made from a different time.”

The governor anticipates that her hospital project in Mangilao—a polarizing proposal—will encounter more stumbling blocks. The acquisition of the property itself has been challenged by Attorney General Douglas Moylan, who cited layers of federal and local laws, which he said were violated when the government purchased the lots from private landowners.

“I want to build a much-needed new hospital and we've been working with our partners, but how fast can we procure the goods and services so we can build our hospital?” the governor asked.

At the chamber’s summit, GovGuam officials and business leaders attempted to navigate the complexity of the territory’s procurement process and identify the bottlenecks.

“We all know the stakes. Delayed road repairs, stalled prevention protests, inconsistent training or resources across agencies, and they slow things down,” said Ernie Galito, immediate past chairman of the chamber’s board of directors.

Where does the problem lie? The statutes? The operating procedures? Day-to-day bureaucratic practices? Lack of understanding of the law? Perhaps, a combination of them all.

Galito said Guam’s procurement system is choked with “too many rules” that are outdated and ambiguous.

But first things first, he said, the government needs to clarify which officers are authorized to sign procurement contracts on behalf of the government of law.

“Current laws require the governor's signature on all contracts. However, later legislation empowers chief procurement officers to execute contracts without gubernatorial approval. This legal ambiguity needs to be resolved to ensure clarity and efficiency,” he said. “Until this is addressed, uncertainty remains about who can legally bind the government, especially for routine purchases.”

Galito also questioned the merit of requiring signatures from the governor and the attorney general on every contract. “That's impractical,” he said. “If the procurement officers are already executing contracts independently, the law should affirm this. Doing so reduces the risk of legal challenges and streamlines the process.”

The appeal process is another pinch point in government procurement. Last month, the governor signed into law a bill restructuring the process by which parties seek judicial review of the OPA’s decisions in a procurement appeal.

Typically, reviews are initiated through a civil action filed against the OPA. Sen. Sabina Perez’s Bill 18-38, now Public Law No. 38-11, streamlines the appeal process by removing the OPA from the litigation. “Rather, judicial review of an OPA decision is likely to involve review of the OPA's interpretations of law or application of the law to the facts presented by the parties, who present the facts to the OPA during the procurement appeal process,” the governor said in her bill approval message to the legislature.

But creating more laws is not the solution, Public Auditor Benjamin Cruz said, pointing out that Guam has existing statutes to facilitate a smooth procurement process and ensure that those involved in the process understand their job. He cited, for example, the mandatory requirement for every procurement officer to go through proper training and certification.

Cruz said the Office of Public Accountability has conducted two audits, which found that some agencies have not complied with the training requirement. “You can look and see which departments have their people trained and which department heads have been trained,” Cruz said. “Many of them haven't, and so they have no business being involved in procurement.”

Cruz also pointed out that in 2011, the Guam legislature established the Procurement Advisory Council, which is tasked with reviewing the territory’s procurement system.

“The council is authorized to conduct studies, research and analysis on all matters relating to the effectiveness, responsiveness and timeliness of government procurement and to critically examine the substantive and procedural aspects of the Guam procurement law,” he said. “This advisory council has been in the law since 2011. It's supposed to have an annual meeting.”

However, nothing came of it. The council only exists on paper.

When he was serving as a senator, Cruz recalled that his previous attempts to reform Guam’s procurement laws were defeated by some business owners’ lobbying. “The bill got passed, then somebody went to the governor and said, ‘That's not in my best interest.’ So, I gave up,” he said.

At this juncture, Cruz said, “We just need to implement the laws.”

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