Gov’t to establish centralized procurement for vehicles

MANILA, Philippines — The government will now procure motor vehicles through a centralized system to ensure the acquisition of vehicles with proper specification and to prevent purchase of luxury vehicles, according to the Department of Budget and Management.

The DBM said this is in line with Administrative Order 14 issued by the Office of the President, which ensures that the acquisition of government vehicles are guided by the principles of “functional suitability, affordability and practicality.”

“The new system will also ensure that the guidelines on the technical specifications of motor vehicles are up to date, and will prohibit the acquisition of luxury motor vehicles in all national government agencies,” the DBM said.

According to the DBM, a centralized procurement system is consistent with the government’s objective to adopt economies of scale in its operations by purchasing from legally, technically and financially capable sources, observing cost-efficient specifications, and making prompt payment.

“Such a system will also economize the procurement of government vehicles by streamlining and rationalizing the approval process for requests in an efficient manner,” it said.

For purposes of AO No. 14, the term “motor vehicle” will refer to any four-wheeled road vehicle; motorcycles; delivery trucks, fire trucks, dump trucks, and buses; heavy equipment such as bulldozers, payloaders, graders, forklifts, amphibian trucks and cranes; all-terrain vehicles, armored behicles and specifi-purpose vehicles; aircraft; and motorized bancas, boats and seacraft.

The order covers all government motor vehicles, except vehicles used for security reasons and purposes for the President and Vice President; vehicles donated in kind to the Philippine government; vehicles used for visiting foreign dignitaries maintained by the Office of the President-Proper and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA); and vehicles acquired using funds from existing official development assistance programs according to the terms thereof.

AO 14 also specifies luxury vehicles which agencies will be prohibited from purchasing.

Earlier this year, the Department of Budget and Management- Procurement Service (DBM-PS) had also enhanced the government’s procurement portal by launching Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) Version 1.5, which incorporates a more advanced operating system.

Under this new system, online bid and submission and payment can now be accepted through PhilGEPS. A new feature was also devised to facilitate requests for purchase orders, quotations, and other transactions under what we call e-catalogue.

The launch of PhilGEPS 1.5 is a step toward the government’s transition to a modernized PhilGEPS, which is expected to be completed by 2019.

According to the DBM, the mPhilGEPS will enable the online bid submission and payment, including an e-Reverse Auction where merchants will be allowed to outbid one another. It will also incorporate data analytics for the generation of statistical procurement reports.