Procurement Service–Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) Executive Director (ED) Genmaries “Gen” Entredicho-Caong took part as a discussant in one of the three technical sessions during the International Public Procurement Conference (IPPC) 2026 on April 27, 2026 at the Millennium Hilton Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.
Organized by Thailand’s Comptroller General’s Department, World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank, and in partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the session entitled “Leveraging Digital Intelligence and AI to Deliver Impactful Procurement Outcomes,” showcased how digital intelligence and AI-enabled tools strengthen procurement performance, transparency, and impact across the procurement lifecycle. This likewise formed part of the conference’s Innovations Focus dedicated to sharing and introducing innovative tools, methods, and practices in procurement.
For her part, ED Gen centered on the digital transformation of the government procurement in the Philippines, highlighting the modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) as the single, centralized government procurement portal in the country.
Strengthened by the provisions of the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) on digitalization, ED Gen explained that the new procurement law mandates the utilization of the features and functionalities of the modernized PhilGEPS across all government agencies, including the Virtual Store, eMarketplace, and the eBidding Facility, among others.
ED Gen also underscored the PS-DBM's open data journey. In relation, the PhilGEPS enhanced Open Data Portal (ODP), and its expansion to include the Beneficial Ownership (BO) Registry, advances not only the digitalization agenda of the agency, but also public participation in government procurement.
With the ongoing implementation of the modernized PhilGEPS Phase 2.0, ED Gen shed light on the upcoming features of the procurement portal that shall enable advanced analytics, open data, and AI-enabled features; end-to-end integration with the government system; and enhanced governance, security, and compliance framework.
Along with ED Gen, Government Procurement Policy Board – Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Sofia Yanto-Abad and Deputy Director General (DDG) Ma. Jozzenne Claire Beltran-Carandang were also present at the conference, with OIC Yanto-Abad serving as a discussant in another technical session entitled “How Procurement Can Drive Jobs, SME Development, and Growth.”
Anchored on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s strong push for the digitalization of government systems, PS-DBM remains relentless in the utilization of modern digital tools to foster a more efficient, transparent, accountable, and innovative procurement process. | April 27, 2026/LR
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