In many places mongol has attained generic status. It means pencil just the way that xerox means photocopy even if you are using Minolta or pentel means marker pens even when the brand is Pilot.
But there are still pencils in government offices but no more Mongols. And the reason is the procurement law (RA 9184). The law has a noble intent: to eradicate corruption related to procurement in government offices. But as things stand, devious people can get around it for big ticket items.
For procurement officers and end-users who abide by the law and whose procurement requirement is small it can mean substandard supplies and equipment. It means pencils that break easily and equipment that do not deliver the quality they want.
The implementing rules of the procurement law require government offices to procure their supplies from the Dept. of Budget and Management if they have them on stock. DBM stocks the cheapest items from the suppliers, usually China-made. Of course there are quality products from China but they cost more. Mongols, too, are pricier pencils.
When our office was procuring a multi-media projector two years ago I was asked to submit the specification. But specifying a brand is not allowed. Naturally we wanted the projector that could deliver the highest quality within the approved budget. We asked local suppliers to demo their top of the line items. We found one brand's model that was just introduced. It exceeded all our specifications but it was priced higher than our approved budget. However, as a promotional offer the dealer offered to match our approved budget.
But we could not justify getting it because a Manila supplier submitted its quotation for a Mitsubishi projector via the GEPS at a much lower price and the projector met the minimum required specifications. When it finally arrived from Manila we found its image quality a big letdown. I hated using that projector ever since.
What you get from the DBM warehouse, aside from substandard pencils, are glues that do not stick and marker pens (sorry no Pentels nor Pilots) that dry up fast. And our end-users shudder at the thought that we will be forced to buy our electric fans from DBM soon.
In fairness to to the fine guys at DBM, I know they despised the way they are fast becoming sales personnel.
So do not expect to see Mongols in the fingers of pencil pushing bureaucrats.
