June 20, 2024
The Procurement Service – Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) engaged its partners from the automotive industry on the use of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System’s (PhilGEPS) Electronic Marketplace, or the eMarketplace, on June 19, 2024, in preparation for the launching of the facility with motor vehicles as the pilot product.
The eMarketplace is an online platform that will enable procuring entities to search, view, compare, select, and procure common-use supplies and equipment (CSE) and eventually non-CSE items from legally, technically, and financially capable suppliers. When launched, it will serve as the government’s official e-commerce platform, providing a centralized hub for the procurement of various goods and services, along with their price and specifications.
In the meeting, training facilitators provided a walkthrough of the eMarketplace. During the live simulation and hands-on training, spearheaded by PhilGEPS’s e-Government Procurement Development and Operations Division under the leadership of Director Maria Teresita M. Semana, the participants were made familiar with its functionalities, features, and processes. The Marketing and Sales Division of the Operations Group, led by Director Philip Josef T. Vera Cruz, also took part in conducting the program which included an open forum.
PS-DBM Executive Director (ED) Dennis S. Santiago, in his message, stated that the reintroduction of motor vehicles as CSE marks only the beginning of further developments in public procurement.
Apart from training potential suppliers, PS-DBM is also holding training activities with client-agencies. Only recently, the PhilGEPS Group visited the Polytechnic University of the Philippine Main Campus in Manila for the eMarketplace Hackathon 3.0, aimed at evaluating the performance and scalability of the facility under heavy load with a large number of simulated users.
The use of eMarketplace has recently been approved by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., in a sectoral gathering with DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman and ED Santiago. This is yet another testament to the commitment of PS-DBM to support the government’s thrust towards digital transformation by streamlining and simplifying the procurement process for bureaucratic efficiency.