Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman put the spotlight on the upcoming launching of the Electronic Marketplace, or eMarketplace — an additional feature of the modernized Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) of the Procurement Service-DBM (PS-DBM) — at the Public Financial Management Competency Program (PFMCP) for local government units (LGU) in Tagaytay City.
In her keynote message for the program’s tenth leg that took place on July 12, 2024, Sec. Pangandaman likened the use of the eMarketplace to other mainstream online ordering platforms. “Sino sa inyo ang may Lazada at Shopee? Magiging ganoon na po ang pagbili sa PS-DBM,” she remarked, eliciting a cheerful applause from the audience. She also touched on other procurement-related concepts such as Green Public Procurement, Inclusive Procurement Programs, and Philippine Open Government Partnership, among other matters.
Serving as the government’s primary e-commerce platform that will offer common-use supplies and equipment (CSE) directly from competent and reputable suppliers, the creation of eMarketplace is a major development in reforming the public procurement process, anchored on the passage of the New Government Procurement Act that was signed into law on July 20, 2024.
PS-DBM Acting Executive Director (ED) Genmaries S. Entredicho-Caong further elaborated on the use of the eMarketplace in the context of government procurement and as part of the budget process of government agencies — from budget preparation to accountability. ED Entredicho-Caong likewise detailed and emphasized the value and benefit of centralized procurement of CSE for the whole of government, the very mandate of PS-DBM.
Conducted by the DBM in collaboration with the Philippine League of Local Budget Officers (PhilLBO) - CALABARZON, Inc., PFMCP engaged more than six hundred (600) local budget officers and PFM practitioners from Region IV-A in a three-day event.
Local government leaders and officials, led by Cavite Governor Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla and Batangas Governor Hermilando “Dodo” Mandanas, were also in attendance, and were called on to practice sound and efficient resource management in their respective jurisdictions and to ensure that in the government’s pursuit of its Agenda for Prosperity, “no Filipino is left behind.”
PS-DBM is presently exerting relentless efforts to make eMarketplace available for utilization of its stakeholders — client-agencies and partner merchants alike — especially following the go signal of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
Through its participation in the series of PFMCP training sessions, PS-DBM shares its best practices in public procurement to assist LGUs in their efficient management of resources, ultimately resulting in the timely and effective implementation of their programs and projects. | July 30, 2024/KR