eMarketplace: A game- changing 'add to cart' reform

Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. "Parang dumaraan sa butas ng karayom." This popular Filipino idiom describes the frustration of many government employees in procuring through the traditional system.

- DBM SECRETARY AMENAH F. PANGANDAMAN

We've heard stories from government agencies about the system being slow, tedious, inefficient, and prone to corrupt practices.

Today, I am thrilled and proud to note that this narrative is gradually being replaced, for our country has entered a new era, one where public procurement is just a click away that is, through the electronic Marketplace or eMarketplace.

A game-changing reform

The eMarketplace, developed and operated by the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), is the government's official e-commerce platform, similar to Lazada and Shopee. One of the transformative innovations institutionalized by the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) the biggest anti-corruption measure of modern times the eMarketplace is designed to modernize the procurement process, allowing agencies to conveniently "add to cart" common-use supplies and equipment (CSEs), ensuring timely and cost-effective transactions. I believe it has revolutionized the government procurement system, making it more efficient, transparent, reliable, sustainable, and future-proof, considering that procurement is the biggest bottleneck in the budget utilization of government agencies.

I am glad to report that just last May 29, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) received the 14 multi-purpose vehicles it procured through the e-Marketplace. This is just nine days after placing the order on May 20. Imagine, nine days from the usual four to six months processing time via the traditional mode! The 14 units, valued at around P1.8 million each, amount toP25.2 million in total, and have generated more than 950,000 savings per unit compared to the prevailing market price.