President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. yesterday approved the Electronic-Marketplace Procurement System (e-Marketplace) of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which is set to be launched by the end of July or early August this year.
The e-Marketplace is part of efforts to address bottlenecks in procurement in the government.
“The ongoing procurement reforms including the proposed amendments to the 20-year old Government Procurement Reform Act are our way of making our procurement system efficient, transparent, reliable, sustainable and future-proof,” said DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, in a briefing after the sectoral meeting in Malacanang.
The e-Marketplace is a digital platform that facilitates buying and selling activities between multiple buyers and sellers. It serves as a virtual marketplace where transactions and interactions occur electronically.
Pangandaman likened the e-Marketplace to online shopping platforms where a list of suppliers offering the needed products would be made available online and from which the buying government agency could choose where to source.
The President, in approving the e-Marketplace, directed the DBM to study the inclusion of all goods such as vehicles, office supplies, heavy equipment and other items used by the government.
Dennis Santiago, executive director of the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management, in the same briefing said the e-Marketplace is a shorter and less costly way of buying supplies and other items used in government.
Santiago said from 26 to 136 calendar days, the e-Marketplace can cut down processing to three days to one week.
He said the government can also save on costs by eight to 15 percent as discounts would be available for bulk procurement or acquisition.
Santiago, however, clarified the e-marketplace is just an alternate procurement system and bidding with the help of a Bids and Awards committee would still be used for other purchases of government.
He also assured the e-Marketplace would include multilevel security mechanisms to deter hacking.
