In preparation for the launching of the Electronic Marketplace (eMarketplace) Facility — a new feature of the modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) — the Procurement Service – Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) actively engages its partners from the automotive, airlines, and logistics sectors in a series of consultative and exploratory meetings.
Ultimately geared towards gathering valuable feedback and recommendations from key experts, the activities form part of PS-DBM’s efforts to ensure the efficient and successful implementation of the eMarketplace, especially noting that motor vehicles and airline tickets are poised to be the pilot products to be offered.
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 implemented, it will serve as the government’s main e-commerce platform, providing a centralized hub for the procurement of various goods and services, along with their price and specifications.
With the approval of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., made more official by the passage of the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), the eMarketplace is proof that digitalization and innovation are at the heart of the new law.
The availability of goods and products in the eMarketplace is just one part of its overall utilization; a significant portion of its effective use also relies on its network of transportation partners. Hence, the need for collaboration with logistics providers for optimized and systematic delivery schemes.
“Click, click na lang… May option if for pick-up or for delivery,” DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said in her keynote speech during one of the Public Financial Management Competency Program sessions, likening eMarketplace to other mainstream online ordering platforms such as Lazada and Shopee.
Alongside the discussion on the integration of these partner merchants’ products in the system, talks about the development and finalization of Memorandum of Agreement were also covered. From as early as the beginning of this year, PS-DBM met with these stakeholders on various occasions, attended by the PS-DBM Executive Committee including former Executive Director (ED) Dennis S. Santiago, current Acting ED Genmaries S. Entredicho-Caong, Operations Group Director Philip Josef T. Vera Cruz, and PhilGEPS Director Maria Teresita M. Semana.
In this age of digital transformation, PS-DBM is steadfast in streamlining procurement procedures as part of its initiatives to reform the agency. Anchored on its 12-point agenda, along with the on-going efforts to implement NGPA, modernizing the PhilGEPS through the eMarketplace is a testament to PS-DBM’s thrust of achieving a world-class, transparent, and highly efficient procurement process. | August 1, 2024/GD