The Department of Budget and Management signed an agreement with state-run Land Bank of the Philippines for the use of a government purchase card that simplifies, in a faster and cost-efficient way, the purchase of goods and services by government agencies.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and LandBank president and chief executive Lynette Ortiz signed the agreement on Aug. 3, 2023.
The GPC—a charge/credit card to be issued and facilitated by LandBank to authorized government personnel and programmed with pre-assigned credit limits and merchant restrictions—is part of DBM’s pursuit of the government’s digital transformation program for the entire bureaucracy.
It can be used to pay for government agencies’ immediate miscellaneous expenses without going through the time-consuming paperwork and requisition process.
Pangandaman said this was an important collaboration with LandBank, which could be considered a milestone for cost savings and another step towards the achievement of bureaucratic efficiency and ease of doing business.
“It will significantly reduce administrative costs by lessening cash and check handling and paperwork; simplifying reconciliation processes; shortening the requisition process; and promoting employee convenience. The GPC will also enhance control by having a pre-defined credit limit feature, expense capture and monitoring, and a secure payment process,” Pangandaman said.
Ortiza said DBM would benefit from the use of GPC to eliminate procurement lead time, facilitate quicker payments and lowered administrative costs for purchases.
Among the GPC’s features are a 30-day revolving credit with full settlement on due date; access to point-of-sale and e-commerce transactions; global acceptance; email alerts for all GPC transactions regardless of amount; and electronic statements of account.
Its benefits for government agencies include reduced administrative costs; enhanced control of expenses and cash liquidity management.