The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced it is launching an app that gives government agencies an easier time in procuring commonly needed items.
The app, dubbed “eMarketplace,” also includes a feature to verify item availability, check prices, and estimate delivery times.
“Meaning, like Shopee and Lazada, we just add items to the cart,” explained DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman in Tagalog. “You can also view the delivery date and choose the option for pick-up.”
The department is already finalizing the development of the app, with the expected launch set for two months from now.
According to Pangandaman, the bids and awards committees (BACs) would still remain for big-ticket projects. She said agencies like the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will still have their own bids and awards committees but with the process being streamlined.
“It will be more transparent. The use of technology, all of our bidding process, everything can be online,” she said. “There is citizen’s participation in the law so the civil society can participate as observers in the process.”
This is in response to the systematic loopholes exposed during the pandemic, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the New Government Procurement Act that aims to reduce procurement transactions to 60 days.
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