Office of Procurement

The Office of Procurement continues to provide services while practicing health and safety precautions due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (?COVID-19?) pandemic. The Office of Procurement is committed to providing supplies, issuing procurement publications, and executing contracts; providing for the fair and equitable treatment of all persons involved in public procurement by the Judiciary; to maximize the purchasing value of public funds in procurement good and services; and providing safeguards for maintaining a procurement system of quality and integrity. The Office of Procurement responded to the coronavirus pandemic by remaining flexible and taking advantage of available technology. Beginning on October 01, 2021, the Judiciary began utilizing Tyler Technologies MUNIS Software (?MUNIS?) for financials and procurement. Procurement using the MUNIS system streamlines the procurement life cycle from requisition to purchase, with an e-purchasing module to handle purchases, contracts, reviews and requests. It reduces costs and ensures compliance, accountability, and audit readiness. From January 01, 2021 until November 14, 2021 under then-Procurement Officer Martha B. Mendiola the Office of Procurement successfully processed 249 requisitions and issued 249 purchase orders; published 4 Invitations to Bid, Request for Proposals, etc.; held 4 pre-proposal, pre-bid, and negotiation meetings; and executed 6 contracts and 3 change orders.

The ISO employees received and configured 50 Dell Latitude 9420 14? Laptops procured for the Judiciary staff. (December 09, 2021). Procurement Officer Fermin B. Dela Cruz

M o n t h Pu r ch ase Or d er s Pu b l i cat i o n s (i .e. I TB, RFP, et c) Co n t r act s (i n cl u d i n g ch an ge

January 23 1 4 February 14 0 1 March 3 0 1

April 7 0 1

May 19 1 0 June 16 0 0

July 27 1 0 August 35 1 0 Septem ber 48 0 1 October 10 0 1

Novem ber 116 0 1

Decem ber 52 1 0

From November 15, 2021 until December 31, 2021 under current Procurement Officer Fermin B. Dela Cruz, the Office of Procurement successfully processed 121 requisitions and issued 121 purchase orders; published 1 Invitation to Bid, Request for Proposals, etc.; held 1 pre-proposal, pre-bid, and 0 negotiation meeting; and executed 1 contract. The Office of Procurement held negotiation meetings using a virtual format, while also participating in in-person meetings, maintaining six-feet social distancing, and properly wearing face masks. By utilizing a virtual meeting platform like Microsoft Teams, it allowed the Office of Procurement to continue its normal work in procurement matters in as timely a manner as possible where in-person participation was not feasible.

Procurement Officer/Program Specialist Fermin B. Dela Cruz, bottom left, signing his Oath of Office that was administered by Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro, at the NMI Judiciary?s 2021 Professional Development Conference at Kensington Hotel. (November 23, 2021). bottom right: Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro swearing in five Judiciary personnel-Procurement Officer/Programs Specialist Fermin B. Dela Cruz, Law Revision Commission Executive Director Dean M. Palacios, Deputy General Counsel Matthew J. Brown, General Counsel Hyun Jae Lee, and ARPA Administrator Martha B. Mendiola during the NMI Judiciary?s 2021 Professional Development Conference at Kensington Hall, Saipan.

TOTAL 370 5 10

T R A I N I N G

Former Procurement Officer Martha B. Mendiola participated in a series of trainings in preparation for the CNMI Government?s transition from JD Edwards to Munis and other CNMI Judiciary trainings. The then-Procurement Officer participated in the following trainings: Purchasing, Bid Management, ReadyForms, Vendor Self Service, Contract Management, and Approvals.

Table 34: Procurement Training

Dat e Tr ai n i n g February 26, 2021 Flourish-Data Visualization Workshop March 19, 2021 Mandatory Training on Policies April 12, 2021 Purchasing Power User Process Training April 14, 2021 Bid Managem ent Power User Process Training April 22, 2021 ReadyForm s Review and Testing April 26, 2021 Vendor Self Service Power User Processing Training May 14, 2021 Mandatory Training on Anti-Bullying Policy May 17, 2021 Purchasing Process Review Training May 19, 2021 Bid Managem ent Process Review Training June 7, 2021 Purchasing Process Review Training June 25, 2021 ADA Training July 7, 2021 Purchasing Process Review Training July 8, 2021 Contracts Managem ent Process Review Training July 14, 2021 PJC Secondary Traum a July 14, 2021 Bid Managem ent Process Review Training August 11, 2021 MUNIS Approver - End User Training August 31, 2021 Non-Discrim ination Policy Training October 14, 2021 Difficult Conversations Webinar Novem ber 29, 2021 SUPREME COURT NO. 2021-ADM-0017-MSC Training