Defense delegates the purchase of military clothing to the Land Force

The Ministry of National Defense delegated to the general commander of the Army all administrative, technical, legal, and financial procedures for the procurement process of textile clothing for professional military personnel, with a reference budget of USD 2,419,296.54. The measure is contained in Ministerial Agreement No. 340, published in the Third Supplement No. 377 of the Official Registry on Friday, September 25, 2026. The process will be executed through the special regime procedure provided for in numeral 6 of article 38 of the Organic Law of the National Public Procurement System.

A purchase that exceeds the delegable threshold

Article 1 of the agreement delegates the general commander of the Army to, in the name and representation of the Ministry of National Defense, carry out the “Acquisition of textile clothing for the professional military personnel of the Army,” covering the preparatory, pre-contractual, signing, and contractual or execution phases of the contract.

The delegation is based on the Seventh General Provision of Ministerial Agreement No. 132, of April 2, 2025, amended by Ministerial Agreement No. 327, of September 1, 2026. That regulation empowers the head of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and the general commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to request an express delegation from the minister when the amount exceeds USD 540,945.26, with the exception of the execution of works.

The supporting report specifies that the assigned value exceeds the amount already delegated to the general commander of the Army, set at USD 693,833.59, which made a new ministerial authorization necessary.

The procedure: military request and favorable reports

• Official Letter No. FT-CGFT-DL-PAI-2026-7329-O, of August 27, 2026: the acting general commander of the Army requests the delegation from the Minister of National Defense.
• Necessity Report No. FT-COT-COT-LOG-2026-033-O, of August 21, 2026: justifies the purchase due to the constant wear and tear of the provided clothing and the completion of its useful life.
• Motivating and Supporting Report No. FT-DLFT-DL-PAI-2026-009-O, of August 26, 2026: concludes that the technical, economic, and legal requirements are met.
• Memorandum No. MDN-CBE-2026-0322-ME and Report No. MDN-CGCBE-DPC-2026-035-INF, both of September 3, 2026: the General Coordination of Strategic Goods Procurement issues a favorable recommendation.
• Comment of September 7, 2026, in the Quipux system: the acting minister orders “Take note. Attend to request. Regulatory procedure.”

The agreement was signed by the acting Minister of National Defense, Roberto Eduardo Quintero Amador, appointed via personnel action No. DARH-AP-SR-2026-000010, effective from September 3 to 9, 2026.

Special Regime and Prior Verification

The procurement is processed under the special regime grounds of numeral 6 of article 38 of the Organic Law of the National Public Procurement System —procurements between public entities or their subsidiaries— and articles 140 and 141 of its General Regulation. The coordination report warns that, before initiating the procedure, the delegated authority must verify and record the identification of the contracting entity, its legal nature, its technical and legal capacity, the validity of the budgetary certification, and compliance with other applicable requirements.

The Army (Fuerza Terrestre) will execute the process through the Decentralized Operating Entity (EOD) 070-1999, domiciled in Quito, province of Pichincha, and RUC 1768025530001. The goods were not classified as strategic nor are they listed in the Annual Procurement Plan for Strategic Goods (PACBE), although they are related to the Annual Investment Plan (PAI).

Financing and Validity

The resources come from budgetary reforms registered in the SIGEF and from an extra-budgetary allocation from financing source 001 of the general State budget, within program 91, activity 08 CANI, arranged via Official Letter No. FT-CGFT-PGE-UPAP-2026-6692-O, dated August 5, 2026.

The agreement stipulates that the ministry’s General Secretariat Directorate shall number, date, and publish the instrument in the Ministerial General Order and in the Official Registry, and that it shall enter into force upon its signing. The supporting information and documentation remain the responsibility of the public officials and servants who intervened in the process.

The delegation concentrates a purchase exceeding USD 2.4 million in the command of the Army, thereby opening a special regime process of direct interest for national textile suppliers and for the monitoring of defense spending. Since it is a procurement between public entities, compliance with the technical and legal capacity requirements of the contracting entity and the prior budgetary certification will be the key points that the National Public Procurement Service and control bodies may audit during the preparatory and pre-contractual phases.

Source: Official Registry, Third Supplement No. 377, Friday, September 25, 2026, Agreements section, p. 2 (official reference: Ministerial Agreement No. 340).