With plans to reintroduce airline tickets as common-use supplies and equipment (CSE), the Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), in collaboration with the country’s biggest airline companies — namely, Cebu Air, Inc. (Cebu Pacific), Philippine Airlines, Inc. (Philippine Airlines), and Philippines AirAsia, Inc. (AirAsia) — conducted training sessions with client-agencies on September 27, October 5, and October 13, respectively, to discuss the legal bases, benefits, procedures, and documentary requirements of the Government Fares Agreement (GFA).
This series of online engagements, spearheaded by the PS-DBM Customer Service (CS) Team under the Operations Group’s Marketing and Sales Division (MSD), also allowed the partner airlines to walk the participants through their respective portals, and familiarize them with the process of purchasing airline tickets as well as to reserve and/or book flights, among others.
The GFA was introduced in 2016 to centralize yet streamline the procurement of airfare for the official trips of all government officials, employees, and personnel — ensuring fast and efficient processing of air travel needs.
In February 2023, PS-DBM held a series of consultative meetings with partner airlines to explore the possibility of reintroducing airline tickets as CSE through the GFA.
While the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with each airline company is being finalized, with updated terms and conditions, PS-DBM likewise awaits the approval of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) to have it re-listed as CSE. Nevertheless, the GFA continues to guarantee savings in time, money, and resources for stakeholders, enabling them to easily look up flight schedules and manage bookings in the comfort of their own desks and offices. Purchasing airline tickets through the GFA also comes with several benefits such as discounts and freebies, with waived rebooking and rerouting fees.
Apart from client-agencies, PS-DBM also engages its internal workforce in capacity building activities to equip focal persons with the basic concepts of GFA in preparation for the eventual promotion and selling of airline tickets as CSE nationwide. This was recently undertaken on October 18, 2023, when MSD-CS engaged employees from the PS-DBM regional depots as part of their week-long Depot Assessment.
These developments take place alongside the reintroduction of Motor Vehicles (MV) as CSE through the Government of the Philippines - Automobile Framework Program. PS-DBM has also identified Cloud Computing Services (CCS) as among its new products to be made available as CSE soon.
This, among other reforms and policies, cements PS-DBM’s commitment to the fulfillment of its 12-point agenda, specifically the study, review, and upgrading of the CSE catalogue ultimately geared towards building a world-class, more efficient and transparent public procurement system.