DBM: Centralized procurement still more advantageous

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reiterated that a centralized procurement through the Procurement Service – DBM (PS-DBM) is still more advantageous to the government and the Filipino people.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman told participants of an event titled Partners in Service 2023 that the PS-DBM would only get better with the ongoing transformational initiatives and reforms.

“Centralized procurement is still more advantageous to the government and its people. Hence, I will continue to support PS-DBM while advocating for the restructuring of its organizational staffing and the amendment of the Government Procurement Reform Act which is already two decades old,” Pangandaman said.

The event was attended by the partner-merchants and suppliers of PS-DBM.

These initiatives and reforms include the digitalization and the promotion of a sustainable procurement system through Green Public Procurement (GPP).

She added, a manual is likewise being crafted to guide procurement practitioners in embedding green specifications in Common-use Supplies and Equipment (CSEs).

Pangandaman also reiterated the need to amend the Government Procurement Reform Act.

“With the updated law, we will have the opportunity to put the right people in, thus ensuring accountability as well as the sustainability of the institution and our procurement system,” she said.

Under the leadership of executive director Dennis Santiago, Pangandaman is confident that the reforms will be executed with utmost integrity.

During the program, Santiago presented PS-DBM’s 12-Point Agenda, which shall foster game-changing transformation in the agency.

The 12-Point Agenda aims to focus on the procurement of CSEs; study, review, and rationalize CSEs; study, review, and recast specifications and pricing; beef up stock-priming of depots and hubs; streamline and modernize the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and institutionalize and implement the GPP.

It shall also guide the organizational restructuring of PS-DBM, including human resource development and capacity building; market strengthening strategy and alliance building; institutionalization of Framework Agreement and Indefinite Delivery and Indefinite Quantity contractual arrangements; take advantage of the benefits of economies of scale through bulk purchasing; and build-up PS-DBM’s financial self-sufficiency.

“We will not ask, solicit, beg, or require anything from you – pecuniary or otherwise – to secure a contract or an award. We urge you to continue complying with the legal, technical, and financial requirements of our project opportunities, and submit a responsive and competitive price offer to secure or win a project,” Santiago said.

Santiago added that the agency is determined in steering the agency back to its glory days.

“And in this endeavor, we need your help and cooperation so that the transformation we are seeking will not remain a promise, but will churn into results. The improvements we aim for can only be achieved through our continued collaboration and partnership,” Santiago told the agency’s partner merchants and suppliers.

The Partners in Service 2023 appreciation event is PS-DBM’s first in-person engagement since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

The event is motivated by the transformational reforms and policies that the agency is undertaking to fulfill its mandate efficiently.