Gov’t Procurement of Common-Use Items to Adopt ‘Add-to-Cart’ System

The Philippine government will soon streamline the procurement of common-use items by adopting a system similar to popular online shopping platforms like Lazada and Shopee, following the enactment of the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA).

At the post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum in Pasay City, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman announced that the NGPA, which amends the 20-year-old Government Procurement Reform Act, introduces an “e-marketplace” for purchasing common-use supplies and equipment (CSE) through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM).

“We’ll make use of modern technology. For common-use supplies, we will use systems and applications similar to Lazada and Shopee. So, it will just be ‘add to cart’ because we know that a lot of common-use supplies are unavailable in our Procurement Service, in our warehouses. But now, it will be online,” Pangandaman said.

The e-marketplace aims to act as the government’s main e-commerce platform, reducing the turnaround time for procuring CSEs. Common-use items include equipment and office supplies like paper, computers, pens, pencils, staplers, folders, and envelopes.

Pangandaman stated that the DBM is finalizing the backend and frontend of the e-marketplace application, with plans to implement it within two months. Separate rules and regulations will be developed for the new procurement methods.

The NGPA also institutionalizes early procurement activities, allowing government agencies to start implementing projects at the beginning of the year. “Meaning, once we submit the National Expenditure Program, all the projects of my colleagues here [from different government agencies] can already be bid out,” Pangandaman said.

Key provisions of the NGPA include:

• Strengthening transparency: Allowing civil society participation as observers in the procurement process.
• Preventing conflicts of interest: Requiring disclosure of relations between bidders and procuring heads of agencies.
• Adopting the “most economically advantageous responsive bid” (MEARB): Prioritizing quality over the lowest cost in procurement decisions.
• Promoting green procurement: Encouraging environmentally friendly methods by procuring goods, infrastructure projects, and consulting services with reduced environmental impact through their lifecycle.

The new law supports the country’s commitment to accelerating climate change action and strengthening disaster resilience by promoting energy efficiency and overall quality in government procurements.