A statement from Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda was released on October 27, 2014 on the launch of the #KabantayNgBayan: Procurement Hack.

“Following the success of our first #KabantayNgBayan hackathon and Readysaster: Hack for Resilience, the Open Data Task Force is pleased to announce the launch of #KabantayNgBayan: Procurement Hack. The second in the #KabantayNgBayan series, the Procurement Hack—organized by the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) in partnership with Open Data Philippines and Globe Telecom—aims to harness the potential of civic technology in fostering government transparency and increasing public awareness of the procurement process.

The first #KabantayNgBayan hackathon encouraged participants to develop apps in support of budget transparency, while Readysaster sought to generate disaster preparedness apps. This time, we are again inviting developers, designers, researchers, and data gurus in the country to join the Procurement Hack. Potential app ideas and challenges include helping citizens understand and monitor the procurement process, matching government needs with prospective bidders, and assembling a history or track record of previous bidders.

The Procurement Hack will be held from November 22-23, 2014. Online registration opens at noon on November 10. Participants are invited to form groups of 3-4 people with a mix of developers and designers, and register online at data.gov.ph/events/procurementhack. For more updates, follow @datagovph on Twitter and like the Open Data Philippines Facebook page. In anticipation of the hackathon, we also invite the public to view our procurement infographic on data.gov.ph to find out more about this process.

As with our previous hackathons, the Procurement Hack aims to promote civic participation in national affairs. By bringing together different sectors, the hackathon provides a platform for collaboration among various groups—government, the private sector, civil society, and international partners. It is also in line with the Aquino administration’s commitment to tuwid na daan and to reforms in public expenditure. In the pursuit of openness, we invite the public to join us in this conversation, to sign up for the Procurement Hack and show us new ways to harness the power of data.”

To register and know more about the #KabantayNgBayan: Procurement Hack, kindly visit this website: data.gov.ph/events/procurementhack.