July 01, 2024
By invitation from the Philippine Judicial Academy (PhilJA) of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Philippines, Procurement Service – Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) Director for Procurement Group, Atty. Genmaries Entredicho–Caong, provided an overview of the agency’s best practices, digitalization efforts, and other reform initiatives to the interim personnel of the pilot Offices of the Regional Court Managers (ORCMs). This activity, which was part of a week-long event, took place on June 21, 2024 at the Admiral Hotel in Manila.
Serving as a panelist, Atty. Entredicho–Caong shared the legal bases for the mandate of PS-DBM to operate a centralized procurement system of Common-use Supplies and Equipment (CSE) for the whole of government, among which is the Letter of Instructions No. 755. In responding to questions during the panel discussion, Atty. Entredicho-Caong assured the judicial courts personnel that there are ongoing efforts in PS-DBM to fill up its regional depots with stocks to ensure continuous supply and delivery of CSEs to its client-agencies in the regions.
Echoing the government’s thrust to boost its digital transformation agenda, Atty. Entredicho-Caong also discussed the deployment of the PS-DBM Virtual Store in the regions for the use of client-agencies in procuring CSEs. In relation, the Electronic Marketplace, or eMarketplace, was introduced. An additional feature of the modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), the eMarketplace shall serve as the government’s e-commerce platform.
Conducted in partnership with the Governance in Justice (GoJust), the workshop forms part of SC’s foundational training for a Judiciary-wide organizational review and restructuring by, among other plans, devolving the administrative processes to the regional level through ORCMs. This is targeted to reduce delays and inefficiencies in the accomplishment of administrative functions — one of which is the procurement of supplies by every trial court.
Akin to SC’s ORCM, PS-DBM also supervises a network of regional depot offices across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. PS-DBM recognizes that capacitating regional court administrators in the field of public procurement is crucial in the delivery not only of administrative services but also, ultimately, of justice.
Anchored in its 12-point Reform Agenda, PS-DBM actively takes part in these engagements that serve as spaces for dialogue — bridging the gap between the agency and its key stakeholders, and therefore providing an efficient and seamless delivery of public services nationwide. | July 1, 2024/GD