The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it is pushing for the full digitalization of its Procurement Service (PS) to boost public transparency and “generate savings” for the national government.
The DBM said it “fully supports” the digitalization efforts being undertaken by the PS-DBM for public procurement processes.
The DBM noted that the attached agency is implementing an “extensive reform agenda” that focuses on improving the national government’s procurement procedures.
“In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to digitally transform government services and to support his 8-point Socioeconomic Agenda, the PS-DBM is dedicated to instituting an efficient procurement system incorporating global best practices, including the complete digitization of all government procedures,” Pangandaman said.
The DBM said PS-DBM Executive Director Dennis Santiago recently met with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) representatives to discuss full procurement digitalization and analytics.
The discussions were vital in the PS-DBM’s development of a “comprehensive” acquisition process to “strengthen” its integrity as the state’s central purchaser, according to the DBM.
“The procurement process, widely seen as the most daunting bottleneck in budget utilization due to alleged rampant corruption, interpretational ambiguities, and a lackluster capability to carry out procurement tasks within government agencies, causes service delivery delays,” it added.
Santiago said the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) is now undergoing modernization that involves the integration of an e-bidding system, electronic payment facility and other improvements to its processes.
“An efficient procurement system underpins effective public expenditure management and fast-tracks the delivery of optimal services to the public in a timely and cost-efficient manner,” Santiago said.
The DBM said PS-DBM is currently implementing an organizational restructuring, involving human resource development and capacity building, as well as upscaling of its logistics and supply chain management “for transparency and accountability in the delivery of the procured items.”
Pangandaman, meanwhile, reiterated the enforcement of sustainable procurement through the so-called Green Public Procurement initiative. She said the initiative is “synonymous” with “responsible procurement.”
“The integration of green solutions into the public procurement process brings us a step closer to our ultimate aim of promoting sustainable management and utilization of natural resources by the year 2030,” Pangandaman said.