MANILA, Philippines – Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad said that electronic bidding of government contracts and other electronic transactions will commence this year through the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS, www.philgeps.net).

He also said national government had saved 555 million from newspaper advertisement of bid opportunities alone since it started to implement PhilGEPS in 2001. The use of PhilGEPS has likewise levelled the playing field in public procurement as even small and medium sized enterprises have a chance participating at and winning government contracts.

“That’s just loose change compared to what we could save once we’ve fully set-up our e-procurement and e-bidding platform,” he said.

“With our present fiscal state, every peso should count. We are encouraging all government departments and agencies, as well as the local government units up to the barangay level, to use PhilGEPS so that their procurement will be cost-efficient,” he said.

“But more than the cost benefits, PhilGEPS will enshrine transparency and accountability in all government procurement and minimize human intervention and discretion in the bidding process. Technology will empower us to fulfil the promise of ‘kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap,’” he said.

He said that within this year, PhilGEPS will already be capable of conducting electronic bids, accepting electronic payments and facilitating other electronic transactions.

As of today, there are 1,620 government agencies, 887 Government Owned and Control Corporations, 220 State Universities and Colleges, and 6,186 Local Government Units registered with PhilGEPS.