Assalamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

“Parang dumaraan sa butas ng karayom.”

This popular Filipino idiom describes the frustration of many government employees in procuring through the traditional system. We’ve heard stories from government agencies about the system being slow, tedious, inefficient, and prone to corrupt practices.

Today, I am thrilled and proud to note that this narrative is gradually being replaced, for our country has entered a new era, one where public procurement is just a click away — that is, through the electronic Marketplace or eMarketplace.

The eMarketplace, developed and operated by the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), is the government’s official e-commerce platform, similar to Lazada and Shopee. One of the transformative innovations institutionalized by the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) — the biggest anti-corruption measure of modern times — the eMarketplace is designed to modernize the procurement process, allowing agencies to conveniently “add to cart” common-use supplies and equipment (CSEs), ensuring timely and cost-effective transactions. I believe it has revolutionized the government procurement system, making it more efficient, transparent, reliable, sustainable, and future-proof, considering that procurement is the biggest bottleneck in the budget utilization of government agencies.

I am glad to report that just last May 29, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) received the 14 multi-purpose vehicles it procured through the e-Marketplace. This is just nine days after placing the order on May 20. Imagine, nine days from the usual four to six months processing time via the traditional mode! The 14 units, valued at around ₱1.8 million each, amount to₱25.2 million in total, and have generated more than ₱50,000 savings per unit compared to the prevailing market price.

BSP’s purchase, which forms part of its re-fleeting program, is just one among the many eMarketplace transactions that PS-DBM completed for the second quarter. With the launch of the eMarketplace in December 2024, the PS-DBM reached a major milestone on Feb. 17, 2025 after successfully turning over its first sale of four motor vehicles worth ₱7.6 million to the Insurance Commission. The following day, the National Tax Research Center received its order of two motor vehicles valued at ₱3.3 million.

Further, the Office for Transportation Security, Department of Justice, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Commission on Human Rights, Office for Alternative Dispute Resolution, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Social Housing Finance Corporation have also reaped the benefits of this game-changing platform.

Through the eMarketplace, agencies can now search, compare, and “add to cart” CSEs in a few clicks. As I’ve said, it significantly reduced procurement time from the usual four-month wait to less than two weeks.

Currently, the platform only offers motor vehicles (MVs), with two merchants onboarded: Cross Country Motor Incorporated and Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation. The PS-DBM has already meticulously evaluated the eligibility requirements of these suppliers, ensuring that they are legally, technically, and financially capable merchants.

Further, the DBM’s latest conduct of the Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT), a comprehensive security testing approach that identifies and addresses cybersecurity vulnerabilities, on the eMarketplace module showed that all vulnerability findings have already been addressed, ensuring its protection against vulnerabilities and cyber threats.

I believe that the success of the eMarketplace would not be possible without President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s (PBBM’s) unwavering support. During our May 2024 sectoral meeting in Malacañang, he immediately approved the platform’s launch, emphasizing that it is a cornerstone of our Agenda for Prosperity and a vital response to one of the biggest hurdles in public finance — budget utilization delays caused by procurement bottlenecks.

Let me also acknowledge the PS-DBM leadership under Executive Director (ED) Atty. Genmaries Entredicho-Caong and former ED Dennis Santiago, who have relentlessly pursued institutional reforms under their 12-point agenda, including the modernization of PhilGEPS and the introduction of features such as eReverse Auction and system integration. I also recognize the staunch support of the Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office.

We still have a long way to go as we envision more significant transformations. A key initiative is the integration of the Government Purchase Card as a payment method in the eMarketplace, linked to the LandBank Payment Gateway.

Further, we are looking at adding more products for CSEs, including airline tickets, cloud computing services, and various software and licenses.

More importantly, we are collaborating with other government agencies to empower small-scale supply manufacturers and cooperatives, including micro, small, and medium enterprises, to participate in government procurement.

Beyond budget, technology’s transformative power is indeed limitless. And despite the challenges, we have embraced positive changes. Today, we go beyond embracing — we are pioneering. We assure you that the PBBM administration is committed to continuously advancing public procurement reforms to achieve our Agenda for Prosperity.

I encourage everyone to support our transformation initiatives as we move forward to a better and more open, inclusive, transparent, and accountable public procurement in our Bagong Pilipinas. To our co-workers in government, mag-add to cart na po tayo!

(Amenah F. Pangandaman is the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management.)