Aiming to equip local officials with strategic and operational understanding of digital procurement platforms and ensure compliant implementation following the recent regional Virtual Store rollout in Cebu, Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) Executive Director (ED) Genmaries “Gen” Entredicho-Caong served as a resource speaker on the first day of the “Client Learning Engagement (CLE) on Digital Platforms for Government Procurement Executive and Legislative Officials” at the Bai Hotel, Mandaue City, Cebu, on September 1 to 2, 2026.
The capacity-building event, organized by the DBM Regional Office VII, in coordination with the Association of Local Budget Officers in Central Visayas (ALBOCV), Inc., aimed to equip the more than 200 participating local chief executives, vice local chief executives, and members of the Sanggunian in Central Visayas to utilize the digital procurement platforms in their procurement activities.
DBM Regional Office VII OIC Director Maricor Baquial, in her opening remarks, emphasized that efficient and transparent procurement supports economic activity, businesses, and local economies. DBM Regional Office IX Director Mark Louie Martin opened the learning sessions with a discussion of key New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) provisions and recent policy developments, focusing on their practical application in local leadership and governance.
For her part, ED Gen provided a background on the PS-DBM mandate and a comprehensive discussion on procurement by electronic means, covering the features of the modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (mPhilGEPS), including the Virtual Store, eMarketplace, and eBidding Facility, among others.
PS-DBM’s efforts to provide technical guidance amid the modernization of the public procurement process are in support of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the DBM, led by Acting Secretary Kim Robert de Leon, in empowering public servants from the national to the local level with the knowledge and digital skills needed for public service delivery. September 11, 2026 | CM