The Procurement Service – Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), spearheaded by the Customer Service Team of the agency’s Marketing and Sales Division (MSD), held a virtual training on the processes and benefits of registering in the PS-DBM’s Government Fares Agreement (GFA) on April 3, 2024, via Google Meet.
The GFA centralizes the purchasing of airline tickets among government agencies, in partnership with the country’s top airline companies. As part of PS-DBM’s client learning engagement (PS-CLE), the training session allowed participants to get familiarized with GFA’s documentary requirements; its legal basis; benefits which include airfare discount and waived processing fees, among others; and the step-by-step process of booking an airline ticket through the travel partners’ portals.
For a more detailed discussion on ticket purchasing, Ms. Joanna Lee Cruz, Account Executive from one of the airline partners, provided a walkthrough of the basic reservation and booking process.
Present in the training were representatives from the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), Philippine Fisheries Development Authority – Navotas Fish Port Complex (PFDA-NFPC), National Commission of Senior Citizen (NCSC), Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC), National Academy of Sports (NAS), Land Registration Authority (LRA), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — many of which are already registered, while some with pending registration or interested.
This activity is set to be conducted twice a month, with invited resource persons from the partner airlines, to form part of the series of PS-CLE sessions throughout the year — the fulfillment of which is dependent on the number of agency requests and new registrants.
Along with the continuous implementation of various procurement reforms, PS-DBM, through the GFA, is easing up the processing of air transportation needs, with plans to have airline tickets relaunched as a common-use supply for the whole of government.