The Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) is pleased to inform its stakeholders that the government procurement reform bill has been signed into law, following President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s (PBBM) signing of Republic Act (R.A.) 12009, otherwise known as New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), on July 20, 2024.
The NGPA is a priority piece of legislation of the PBBM administration to amend the country's decades-old procurement law, aimed at streamlining the procurement process for a more efficient, effective, sustainable, and transparent public procurement activities of the government.
The NGPA is also poised to put an end to side deals, under-the-table agreements, uncompetitive behavior, and other criminal acts and corruptible behavior. This consequently addresses gaps in public spending and budget utilization, ultimately resulting in good governance and better delivery of public services.
Under NGPA, government agencies are provided with new and innovative procurement methods to allow for fit-for-purpose procurement, including Direct Acquisition, Direct Sales, Competitive Dialogue, Unsolicited Offer with Bid Matching, and Direct Procurement for Science, Technology, and Innovation. The concept of Most Advantageous and Responsive Bid (MARB) and Most Economically Advantageous and Responsive Bid (MEARB) are also introduced as new award criteria.
At the core of NGPA is the digital transformation of public procurement, as manifested in the continuous modernization of PS-DBM's Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS). Amid this development, the preparations for the eventual launching of the Electronic Marketplace, or eMarketplace, are already in the pipeline. The eMarketplace is an additional feature of the modernized PhilGEPS which shall serve as the government's main e-commerce platform.
The PS-DBM — represented by Acting Executive Director Atty. Genmaries S. Entredicho-Caong; Director for Operations Group Atty. Josef Philip T. Vera Cruz; Atty. Ramon L. Matibag and Atty. Lyodychie Q. Camarao of the Legal Division; Atty. Kathleen Rose A. Taniñas and Ms. Jhudiel M. Tumala of the Office of the Executive Director; Atty. Charlotte Vina S. Casinillo of the Procurement Group; and Mr. Marc DLR Hordejan of the PhilGEPS Group — was present during the ceremonial signing at the Malacañan Palace.
Before this momentous event, from the preliminary public hearings, technical working group meetings, consultations with key stakeholders, interpellations, to period of amendments, PS-DBM actively participated in the deliberations of both the House and the Senate, with the guidance of DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, former PS-DBM Executive Director Atty. Dennis S. Santiago, former Senator and now Education Secretary Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, and House Committee on Revisions of Laws Chairperson Rep. Edward Vera-Perez Maceda.
As the central procuring arm for the common-use supplies and equipment (CSE) of the whole of government, PS-DBM has long prepared itself to take on its role in implementing NGPA to ensure that with this new law, the Philippine public procurement is attuned to the changing times and is responsive to the evolving needs of the Filipino people. | July 22, 2024/GD/KR
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