By invitation from the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), formerly the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Procurement Service – Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) took part in the 2025 DEPDev Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Coordinators (DICo) Convention to introduce the eMarketplace among the agency’s ICT personnel from the central and regional offices nationwide.
Held in May 2025 in Quezon City, the event bannered the theme, “Staying Ahead in ICT: Trends, Tools, and Innovations,” aimed at sharing knowledge and building connections through collaborations among participants, with insights from industry peers and government counterparts.
For its part, PS-DBM was represented by Operations Office Acting Director Samantha Grace E. Moscoso and Marketing and Sales Division Chief Omar O. Bernal as resource speakers. In their session, the discussion zeroed in on the use of the eMarketplace as the government’s official e-commerce platform where users can “add to cart” available common-use supplies and equipment (CSE).
Currently, the eMarketplace only offers motor vehicles that boast savings as compared to the market price. The eMarketplace is anticipated to house more CSE items during the pilot implementation, such as airline tickets, cloud computing services, and software licences.
In a letter signed by Mr. Florante G. Igtiben, Officer-in-Charge and Assistant Secretary of DEPDev’s Corporate Affairs Group who likewise serves as the Concurrent Director of the ICT Staff, the convention was an opportunity to explore various aspects of recent ICT developments for DEPDev to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-evolving field of ICT.
Anchored on the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA)—the discussion on the salient provisions of which also formed part of the PS-DBM session—the use of eMarketplace as an additional feature of PS-DBM’s modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) revolutionizes the public procurement process in this age of digital transformation. | May 28, 2025/LR