MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Magandang umaga, Malacañang Press Corps, and welcome sa ating press briefing ngayong araw, May 14.

In today’s sectoral meeting, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved the e-Marketplace Procurement System of the Department of Budget and Management – this is in keeping with the modernization and amendments to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System or PhilGEPS.

It can be recalled that in August last year, in a meeting on the proposed amendments to the Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, President Marcos directed the DBM to study the inclusion of all goods such as vehicles, office supplies, heavy equipment and more in the e-Marketplace. President Marcos also said that government procurement should be as easy and transparent as commercial online shopping.

Today, the Procurement Service-DBM presented the additional features, and implementation status of the government procurement’s virtual store which President Marcos approved to be piloted before July of this year.

And here, to tell us more details about the e-Marketplace is DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and PS-DBM Executive Director, Atty. Dennis Santiago. Good morning.

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: Good morning, Daphne. To Malacañang Press briefer, Daphne Oseña-Paez, to PS-DBM Executive Director, Atty. Dennis Santiago, fellow public servants, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant morning to everyone. Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

We just had a sectoral meeting with no less than the President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to discuss about the updates and upgrades on our Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System or PhilGEPS and our Electronic-Marketplace or e-Marketplace earlier. An e-Marketplace is a digital platform that facilitates buying and selling activities between multiple buyers and sellers.

It serves as a virtual marketplace where transactions and interactions occur electronically. It’s similar to Lazada, Amazon and Shopee. It is a significant component of digital transformation as it leverages the power of the internet and technology to connect businesses, consumers and suppliers in the digital environment. It is one of the most successful initiatives of the government around the world to deliver services to the public.

Thus, we are all excited for the official launch of our e-Marketplace by end of July. As you all know, this is our part of our efforts to digitalize the government’s procurement system and address concerns on the procurement process – which is the biggest bottleneck or hurdle in the budget utilization of our agencies.

The ongoing procurement reforms including the proposed amendments to the 20-year old Government Procurement Reform Act are our way of making our procurement system efficient, transparent, reliable, sustainable and future-proof.

To our media partners, if you have clarifications, we would be happy to answer your questions and I have here with me Atty. Dennis Santiago, the Executive Director of PS-DBM. Thank you very much.

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Good morning. Thank you very much, Madam Secretary.

Just to explain the… currently, we have the modernized [Philippine] Government Electronic Procurement System or the mPhilGEPS. It has, at present, electronic bulletin board as it features the registry of suppliers, automatic notification and the GOP-OMR or Government of the Philippines-Official Merchants Registry. So additional po na feature nitong ating mPhilGEPS will be our e-Marketplace, the e-reverse auction, advanced data analytics and system integration.

So, we’re focusing on the e-Marketplace that we will launch around end of July or early August this year to allow for ease of the procurement or ease of procurement in government. This is also included in the NGPA or the New Government Procurement Act as a proposal and we hope to provide the platform ‘no, both for sellers and buyers – meaning, sellers, market operators, and of course, government as buyers ‘no – to look into products, multiple products in one platform where they can choose, where they can select and, of course, order and actually pay ‘no everything through the system. So, this will basically shorten the procurement process, the common things done through competitive bidding will be shortened to, you know, in one setting you can already make your purchase; and then, of course, it provides for efficiency in government contracting.

So, for the details on the e-Marketplace and other features of the mPhilGEPS, we’re willing to provide answers, clarifications if there are questions. Thank you.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Let’s open the floor to questions. Maricel Halili, TV-5.

MARICEL HALILI/TV5: Magandang umaga po, Secretary/Sir. Secretary and Atty. Dennis, gaano po kalaki iyong matitipid sa panahon and oras through this particular platform? Ano ba iyong current na average ngayon?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Maganda pong tanong iyan ano po. Kunwari, sa procurement po ng goods ngayon, shortest period to procure to competitive bidding is around 26 days; pinakamahaba ho, 136 days. Now, with the e-Marketplace, you have products already in the system then the government procuring entities will have to select from those products and then already make an order ‘no right there and then ano po – based of course in their analysis of what are requirements that they need, and then of course if those goods will address those requirements. So, in one day puwede ho kayong maka-procure ano po. So, of course, delivery is another matter – perhaps two or three days more but, you know, shorter than 26 or 136 calendar days, right?

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: Kasi po, without the e-Marketplace, just to cite lang po – for example po, we will launch this first para sa ating vehicles. All the national government agencies and departments, lahat po kami nagpo-procure ng mga sasakyan – not just iyong ginagamit naming sasakyan for our everyday work, pati po mga heavy equipment, ambulance, fire trucks among others.

Ang ginagawa po ng ahensiya, isa-isa po kami bumibili – para po makabili, kailangan po i-organize namin iyong BAC namin and then magpapa-bid po kami online; and then bawat isa po noong mga suppliers will go to us and then we will talk to them kung ano iyong pinaka-okay na provider.

With this one, iyong unang process po ng procurement, PS-DBM na po iyong gagawa noon. Lahat po ng mga eligible suppliers of a certain product – for example iyong vehicles po, nandudoon na po sa ating e-Marketplace. Ang gagawin na lang po ng ahensiya, iki-click na lang po niya based on doon sa kailangan niya.

MARICEL HALILI/TV5: Sorry. So, sino po iyong puwedeng makasama sa platform? Meaning, iyong mga suppliers will be conduct… iyong pag-screen ng suppliers will be conducted by PS-DBM but if you want to be part of the platform, paano po iyong magiging procedure? Lahat din po ba ng government agencies will also be part of that?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Okay. Iyon pong papaano ho ang isang supplier eh… how will they land in the e-Marketplace o itong procurement platform. Bale ho, mayroon tayong legal technical specifications, ang legal, technical and financial eligibility requirements also that they have to comply with ‘no.

For our pilot, we’re looking at… pilot procurement will be the motor vehicles. We are looking at our manufacturers and distributors ‘no. We are not dealing with dealerships, we are dealing with manufactures and distributors of motor vehicles, the bigger players so that they are able to provide, one, the scale, the number of motor vehicles; of course, we’re looking forward to have discounts ‘no because this is both procurement ‘no – though we are not buying them, the goods are consigned to us ‘no.

And then, of course tama ho kayo, mayroon pong legal, technical and financial parameters that they have to comply before they can come in. For example, technical parameters: Can they deliver on time? Do they have the stock in a certain period of time – 30 days, 60 days or 34 to 5 days ‘no? Last that we did discuss with them sabi nila, “Sir, ang delivery, mga 30 to 45 calendar days sa motor vehicle.” Compared to, ngayon ho makita ninyo there is a delay really with the delivery of motor vehicles, sometimes six months to one year ano po.

So, dito sa e-Marketplace, paiikliin po iyan and then, of course, we have the commitment from the market operators, these manufacturers and distributors ‘no, that they will deliver on time and that they will deliver the requirement in terms of scheme.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Harley Valbuena, DZME.

HARLEY VALBUENA/DZME: Hello, good morning po. Natanong po ni Ate Mace iyong sa time na masi-save natin. How about po on the expenses naman? Is there a certain amount that the government can save by using the e-Marketplace as a platform for our procurement?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Magandang pong tanong iyan. Kung titingnan ninyo po iyong conduct of the procurement process with the Bids and Awards Committee ano po, so mag-start po iyan sa posting. And then you have the pre-bid conference where the Bids and Awards Committee members are actually present, entertaining questions from the bidders. They will open bids – this is another stage in the procurement process – bid evaluation, post-qualification until the award of contract.

So marami pong araw, panahon na ginugugol. Of course, kada upo ninyo diyan, ang Bids and Awards Committee members sa isang procurement procedure or procurement activity, it entails cost, ano po.

So sa e-Marketplace po, hindi na kailangan umupo iyong Bids and Awards Committee doon where the procuring entity basically through, perhaps their procurement service or let’s say their admin service will have to go to the e-Marketplace to conduct the procurement itself, ano po. So that’s why I was saying earlier, iyong 26 calendar days mo or 136 calendar days for the procurement of goods, mapapaikli mo talaga siya let’s say, perhaps, longest one week; shortest, three days ‘no to be able to procure.

HARLEY VALBUENA/DZME: Sir, mayroon lang po tayong rough estimate ng amount na matitipid natin, perhaps in a year, in general po sa buong gobyerno kapag ginamit natin iyong e-Marketplace?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Of course, the number, there might be some play in the number ‘no. But it’s good to look at around, maybe, eight to fifteen percent, ano po, ang matitipid ng gobyerno doon po sa paggamit ng e-Marketplace. Doon lamang sa cost na ginugugol ng gobyerno kada procurement activity or kada procurement process, not even on the price yet, considering the discounts that you will get from bulk procurement or bulk acquisition.

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: Kasama po ito sa study na ginawa po namin dati with the World Bank, among other … iyong mga procurement reforms na ginagawa po natin ngayon. And according to that study po, if we digitalize our process, including the admin process in our national government, 26 to 29 percent of the cost will be saved by the national government.

EDEN SANTOS/NET25: Good morning po. Papaano po makatutulong itong platform na ito para maiwasan iyong korapsyon sa gobyerno po, especially doon sa mga … kagaya ng mga nangyari before sa procurement, ano po, na talaga namang umabot pa sa imbestigasyon sa senado at kongreso, at saka paano po maiiwasan iyong overpricing, ganoon? Thank you.

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Thank you po sa tanong. Actually, transparency is key, ano po. Openness in the procurement is very, very important. Doon sa e-Marketplace po kasi, makikita ninyo na ho … iyong procuring entities na bumibili, makikita nila po iyong presyo doon ng bawat produkto. They also have their, in reference to their needs, ano po, nandoon naman iyong technical specifications din na kanilang kailangan. So very transparent, kung ano iyong pipiliin nila, of course, it’s based on their technical specifications based on their needs, based on their requirements.

So, pipiliin po nila kung ano po iyong requirement nila, plus the price that, you know, that would basically fit their budget. Hindi ho puwedeng … kunwari ang presyo ho doon ay isandaang piso, babayaran niya ng 120 kasi very clear po, the payment also is done online, ano po. So, are we even looking at the use of the government purchase card, ano po. So hindi ho iyong bayaran nito is outside the system; the payment is within the system so that the system can contain and control the payment mechanism also.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Secretary, Atty. Dennis, magandang umaga po. Initially po, ang sabi natin, ang launching ay sa July. Initially po, anu-anong government offices ang inaasahan nating gagamit na ng e-Marketplace sa July?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Actually po, lahat ng government agencies na gusto na hong bumili ng motor vehicles, puwede hong bumili. At kanina po, I was looking at the numbers of the agency procurement … agency purchase of motor vehicle, ang number po is around eight billion worth for about 2,000-something motor vehicles. Marami po iyong requirement na ng government agency for quarter one pa lamang po ‘no.

So, hopefully, lahat ho ng gustong bumili ng sasakyan, ma-serve po namin. Of course, you know, there’s the delivery timeline that are being requested by manufacturers. Sabi nila, kailangan ho naman talaga ng timeline kasi hindi ho mai-deliver kaagad-agad lahat ng mga requirement, but of course, we will accede to the capacity of the market as well.

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: Kasama rin po dito iyong mga local government units natin.

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: So, sir, ito po iyong number: Two thousand seven hundred seventy-nine units, around eight billion pesos for quarter one for the motor vehicles procurement. So, hopefully, kung mailagay po o ma-serve namin siya, so mas mabilis ang procurement ng motor vehicles for the whole government with e-Marketplace.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Secretary, Attorney, this is for strict compliance. Papaano kung hindi makapag-comply? Halimbawa, nabanggit ninyo rin, Secretary, kanina na pati iyong mga LGUs kinakailangang gumamit na. Ano ang pupuwede nating maging aksiyon kapag hindi sila nag-comply?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Actually, sir, tama po kayo. Ito pong … when the motor vehicles are considered as CSE (Common-use Supplies and Equipment) or common-use, there are situations [unclear], you know, availability of the unit, you know, time of delivery, kailangan ng procuring entity. The Procurement service po, we issue what you call the certificate of non-availability of stock. So in terms of practicability, sometimes iniisip din namin, baka mamaya mayroong mas mahal na sasakyan ‘no kumpara doon sa inu-offer namin. It could be a possibility, ano ho. Maaari iyong isang dealership binili niya nang way ahead iyong motor vehicles na iyan, so mas mura kaysa sa inu-offer, they can go ahead and buy those, ano ho. Mayroon pong tinatawag na certificate of non-availability of stock.

What we are after here is really efficiency on public procurement process as the marching cadence of the president, kailangan makabili ang gobyerno. So kung iyon pong aming e-Marketplace ay medyo po either mahal siya or hindi available, kailangan na kailangan nila iyong motor vehicle, they can go ahead and make their purchases po.

TUESDAY NIU/DZBB: Follow-up lang po – good morning po – sa question ni Kuya Alvin. Ito po bang ganitong uri ng procurement natin, na gagamit na ng e-Marketplace, sabi ninyo launching is July, mayroon po bang timeline na kailangang lahat na sila ay required, kumbaga, no choice kung hindi ito ang gamitin? Katulad ng sinabi ninyo, puwede pa naman kung nakabili na sa una, but then, mayroon bang panahon na kailangan iyon na iyon, lahat gagamit na iyon?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Ngayon po kasi, sang-ayon po sa LOI 7551, iyong common-use supplies and equipment must be purchased from the procurement service of the Department of Budget and Management. Ano ho ba iyong mga common-use supplies and equipment – papel, lapis, ballpen, iyan po ‘no, binibili po ng gobyerno sa amin iyan. Kung hindi po available sa amin, of course, they can buy somewhere else ‘no. Kaya nga sinasabi ho namin, we issue what you call the certificate of non-availability of stocks.

As to timeline, once we launch it, they need to buy from us. But then if they cannot for reasons of practicability, distance, you know, cost, we can essentially provide that certificate of non-availability of stock. The reason being that, we need them to procure; the system should not halt them to procure, ganoon po iyon.

So, kahit po ngayon … sa ngayon po, kung wala ho kaming papel, bumibili rin po sila sa labas; ina-allow din po namin iyon. Mayroon po kaming virtual store that they can print the page or the landing page, kapag nakita po nilang out of stock po doon, they will just simply printscreen and then that the certificate of non-availability of stock; they can source out their products for the common-use supplies and equipment outside.

So, when you’re talking about timeline, kailangan bang bumili kay PS-DBM? Yes, kailangan po. Pero kung reasons for practicability, you know, cost and distance, they can go elsewhere po.

JEAN MANGALUZ/INQUIRER.NET: Good morning. How timely is the online government procurement system in the midst of several hacking attacks against the government? How do we ensure that there’s security in the e-market?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Thank you po sa question. Mayroon pong multi—mayroon naman pong security and multilevel security po itong ating e-Marketplace, as a matter of fact, lodged with the PhilGEPS. Mayroon po iyong tinatawag na EPN tools. Mayroon din po dito iyong Captcha that, you know, before any procuring entity can get into the system, there’s the Captcha that they have to … there is that sort of warped words that they have to put in to determine whether they are robots or not.

So marami naman hong systems and multilevel po siya. And then, of course, alam naman ho natin, as we speak now, marami po talagang attempts for hacking, attempts for ano, you know, impairing the integrity of the electronic procurement system. But then, nahuhuli naman ho namin itong mga ito and then we are ready to address this cyber security issues.

JEAN MANGALUZ/INQUIRER.NET: So right now, may hacking attempts ngayon sa procurement?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Actually po, that’s a fact naman po. Mayroon po sa lahat po, hindi lang po sa procurement; in all government, even private websites, ano.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Ivan Mayrina, GMA 7.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA 7: As you correctly pointed out, Attorney Santiago, openness and transparency is key dito ho ‘ho – how open and transparent is this? Will the public have access to this marketplace not for anything but perhaps to callout if there is overpricing going on? And more importantly, will there be a feedback mechanism para ma-callout ito and to bring it out in the open?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Thank you very much, sir. Actually ho, that’s the key really and kanina nga po napag-usapan sinabi rin ho ng presidente sabi niya ayaw niya nang may limitation sa openness, so sabi niya “Let’s open it up.” Parang ho ngayon kasi katulad ho ngayon nangyayari naman po ito sa PhilGEPS – lahat ho naman can access – can see who is buying, what they bought, iyon pong mga notices of award, notices to proceed – naka-post po lahat iyan sa PhilGEPS eh so they are really open because we also embrace what we call – the secretary is championing it – the open government partnership alongside concept of open contracting partnership.

So, this will really be open. We are looking at what you call iyon pong tinatawag ho na machine-readable files ano po and later on, if they need an in-depth determination of what’s in there, we can basically provide that and then, but of course essentially, there are data or information already appearing or available in the site that the public or you know the private sector market operators can look at to see the transparency characteristic of the system.

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: Mayroon din po siyang…kung familiar po kayo I mean, everyone siguro po is gumagamit noong Lazada at saka ng Shopee – ‘di ba kapag bumibili po tayo ng isang product lalabas po lahat noong suppliers pero at the bottom po ewan ko sa Shopee pero Lazada po kasi ako eh [nag-promote pa] – iyon pong sa bottom, makikita ninyo po doon iyong number of items sold – ‘di ba kapag marami po, ibig sabihin okay ito; tapos ito mayroon din pong mga stars – kapag mas maraming stars, okay ito – ibig sabihin, dependent ito; and then at the bottom, makikita ninyo din po iyong client, consumer reviews – so, sasabihin niya “Ah itong supplier na ito mabilis mag-deliver. Itong supplier na ito makinis, well-packed, magaganda po iyong packaging,” ‘di ba parang ganoon po, “Bagong-bago, hindi po sira, hindi basa, hindi ganoon” so parang may ganoon din po.

In fact, iyan po iyong kauna-unahan po as na-mention at recommendation kanina ng ating mahal na presidente po na sana po doon sa ating portal mayroon pong ganoong klaseng feature iyong ating website na para po makita ng mga tao kung gaano ka-transparent not just po iyong mga products lang ‘no pati iyong buong procurement process kung puwede po makita ng mga tao, iyong clients po.

Then mayroon din po kasi itong system niya, mayroong data analytics na feature. So, doon po sa data analytics, doon po maka-capture natin lahat ng mga positive at saka negative noong mga items po. So, puwede po natin ilabas iyan.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA 7: Mayroon ho akong question pa, off topic but I’ll save that for later kung mayroon pa silang …okay lang?

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Stay on topic first.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA 7: Secretary, Attorney, point of clarification lang kasi parang narinig ko na wala nang Bids and Awards Committee, tama po ba? Anong mangyayari po doon?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Mayroon naman, sir. Mayroon po kasi there are different modes of procurement naman ho under the law, the present law and of course in the proposed new Government Procurement Act. Mayroon pa rin hong Bids and Awards Committee. They will still exist and for competitive bidding purposes and for such other alternatives modalities of procurement. Mayroon pa rin naman po, sir.

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: Hindi lang naman po ito ang binibili ng mga departments – we’re just talking about the common-use supplies – ito iyong mga PS-DBM po ang bumibili because bulk po iyong nature noong binibili natin. So, kapag mayroon naman po iyan, hindi na po kailangan … like, [unclear] po si Secretary Jimmy Bautista po, hindi na po nila kailangan iyong BAC nila na bumili ng mga ballpen, ng sasakyan. They can just concentrate in procuring iyong mga transport system natin, iyong sa mga ODA; iyong mas importante po nilang kailangang i-procure, iyon po iyon.

Q: Just like Boss Ivan, iri-reserve ko po iyong isang tanong para sa mga government employees.

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: Sec. Cheloy, sabi dito you have to be doon sa topic. Ah, bonus! Good news po! So, tomorrow ipapalabas na po—I mean nasa kanila na po ang cash. So, tomorrow po, mari-receive na po ng mga government employees ang kanilang midyear bonus po, that’s one-month salary po sa ating mga kawani ng gobyerno.

The personnel must still be employed in government as of May 15 of the current year and should have received at least satisfactory performance rating in the most recent rating period or applicable performance appraisal period.

The midyear bonus is equal to one month of basic pay of entitled government workers as of May 15. It is given to eligible personnel who have worked at least four months from July 1 of the previous year to May 15 of the current year. Magandang balita po.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Very good news.

IVAN MAYRINA/GMA 7: Kahit kaka-announce lang po ng bonus, baka may update na rin ho doon sa panawagang wage hike para sa mga empleyado ng gobyerno?

DBM SEC. PANGANDAMAN: We have been very consistent po na gusto po natin magbigay ng increase ng salary para sa ating government workers. Kung maalala ninyo po, we provided 40 million pesos to GCG para po kumuha ng third party to study po kung ano iyong amount, anong klaseng increase ang puwede nating ibigay at saka kung gaano po kalaki iyong increase na ibibigay natin.

So, hopefully po—nagbigay na po sila ng midterm report, hopefully, by June we’ll have the final report po.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. One last question from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN.

PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: About po doon sa e-Marketplace. Is this different from iyong virtual store launched five or six years ago?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Thank you, ma’am, that’s a very good clarification po. At present, the virtual stores are already working. Nandoon po naka-lodge iyong mga common-use supplies and equipment na binibenta namin. Of course, any electronic system has to be hiked up or, you know, sabi nga i-level up, ano po.

So, eventually itong virtual store ho will be transferred to the e-marketplace such as the e-marketplace will now be selling both CSE and non-CSE products ho, eventually po. But right now we still maintain our virtual store; it’s still working and doon po bumibili ating government agencies ng common-use supplies and equipment.

PIA GUTIERREZ/ABS-CBN: Hanggang kailan po iyong transition? And how long will this virtual store be online?

PS-DBM EXEC. DIR. SANTIAGO: Ano po, ma’am, actually as to the timeline, wala po tayo. Gusto ho namin kasing patakbuhin muna iyong e-Marketplace kasi ho kapag pinagsama iyong system, may mga changes po doon sa programming, doon po sa source code and everything. So, we have discussed this already amongst our team, our PhilGEPS team. So, hopefully by next year ho ay masama ho namin siya para isang sistema na lang po ang ginagamit namin.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you for all the good news, Secretary Pangandaman. And thank you also, PDM Executive Director Atty. Dennis Santiago. And we look forward to the implementation of the e-Marketplace.

Thank you, Malacañang Press Corps. We shall be back shortly after a quick break because we have another press briefing. See you then. Thank you.

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