The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is set to upgrade the government’s electronic procurement portal Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS).
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno told reporters during a breakfast forum on Wednesday that the existing online procurement channel will be updated with more “sophisticated software to increase reliability and performance.”
The upgraded government electronic procurement platform is called PhilGEPS version 1.5.
“PhilGEPS 1.5 will be launched by the DBM, in coordination with the Procurement Service (PS), on March 26, 2018,” he said.
“This is in response to the increased traffic with the system, which has caused slowdowns and difficulties on the part of government agencies and merchants,” he said.
The Budget chief noted the launching of PhilGEPS 1.5 is in line with administration’s push for a more streamlined and efficient public procurement system.
“The government must keep up with the increasing demands of line agencies and merchants in the conduct of their procurement activities,” he said.
“One way to secure timely and transparent use of public funds, especially with our huge P3.8 trillion budget, is by having a good electronic procurement system,” he said.
During the forum, Budget Undersecretary Lilia Guillermo noted that PhilGEPS 1.5 will allow government agencies to post their bids and awards information online.
At the same time, the e-portal enables registered contractors, merchants, and consultants to participate in the procurement of goods, civil works and consulting services, she said.
The DBM is now working to modernize the government electronic procurement system, which is expected to be completed by 2019.
“The modern GEPS project was awarded to the joint venture between Nextix and Nextenders last December 29, 2017. Project implementation started on February 6, 2018 and is set to be completed by June 2019,” Guillermo said.
The modernized GEPS will incorporate the Annual Procurement Plan (APP) of procuring entities.
An e-Catalogue will also be made available to procuring entities and merchants to facilitate requests for quotations, purchase orders, and other transactions. Likewise, online bid submissions and payments will be possible. —VDS, GMA News
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