The Government Procurement Reform Act or RA 9184, along with its IRR, is the most important reference document in government procurement. The law, which took effect on 26 January 2003, provides for the standardization and regulation of government procurement activities. The IRR, which took effect on 8 October 2003, initially covered public procurement but was revised in 2008 to include procurement for foreign-assisted projects in agreement with various development partners. Hence, the Revised IRR of RA 9184 came into being 22 July 2009.