President Marcos approved the launching of the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) e-marketplace procurement system to streamline purchasing and selling activities in the government.
In a Palace briefing, DBM chief Amenah Pangandaman said the launching of the e-marketplace is part of the agency’s modernization and keeping up with the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS)
“It serves as a virtual marketplace where transactions and interactions occur electronically,” Pangandaman said.
“It is a significant component of digital transformation as it leverages the power of the internet and technology to connect businesses, consumers, and suppliers in the digital environment,” she added.
According to Pangandaman, President Marcos approved the pilot run of the government’s procurement’s virtual store before July of this year and an official launch by the end of July.
“Thus, we are all excited for the official launch of our e-marketplace by end of July. As you all know, this is part of our efforts to digitalize the government’s procurement system and address concerns on the procurement process—which is the biggest bottleneck or hurdle in the budget utilization of our agencies,” she stated.
Executive Director of PS (Procurement System)-DBM Atty. Dennis Santiago, on the other hand, said the marketplace system would shorten the procurement process in mere days.
“In the procurement of goods today, the shortest time to purchase through competitive bidding is around 26 days; the longest is 136 days,” Santiago said.
“Now, with the e-marketplace, if you already have products in the system, government procurement entities will just have to choose from those products and place an order right away… and if those goods will meet those requirements. So, you can procure it in just one day. Delivery, of course, is a different story—maybe two or three days.,” he added.