Budget chief eyes online bidding, purchasing processes for PS-DBM

FILE PHOTO: Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, presents to the members of the Committee on Finance the highlights of the proposed P5.268 trillion 2023 national budget. (Joseph Vidal / Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman is considering making the bidding and acquisition processes of its Procurement Service (PS) go online.

The budget chief disclosed this Wednesday, as she asked legislators to give PS-DBM a chance to work on reforms such as digitalization despite calls for its abolition amid corruption issues.

Pangandaman faced the Commission on Appointments (CA) committee on budget and management, which deliberated on her nomination as DBM Secretary. The CA has finally approved her appointment also on Wednesday.

“We will have to use po a digitalization. We’ll make sure that ‘yung pag-purchase po ng products can be done online to ensure also that there [is] enough inventory. It’s like buying from Lazada or Shopee, if everyone is familiar,” she said.

(We will have to use digitalization. We’ll make sure that the purchase of products can be done online to ensure also that there is enough inventory. It’s like buying from Lazada or Shopee, if everyone is familiar.)

“I think, just for transparency, all bidding process po should be online para po merong — para po nakikita ng tao po ‘yung nangyayari (so that people can see what is happening) during the bidding process,” she added.

Pangandaman said that embarking on the online sphere is just among the reforms that the DBM is considering.

While she appealed for a chance to develop DBM, she also said that she will still defer to the judgment of Congress when it comes to the abolition of the PS-DBM, which has been linked to various controversies that include the purchase of allegedly overpriced COVID-19 and other medical supplies from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. and acquisition of “outdated but pricey” laptops for the Department of Education. With reports from Alyssa Joy Quevedo, trainee