Government portal tracks P47.3-billion Covid-related deals awarded

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THE government has so far awarded a combined total of P47.3 billion in Covid-19-related contracts.

In a virtual procurement forum on Wednesday, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Philippines Director of Economic Development and Governance Office Jeffrey Goebel disclosed the amount of awarded contracts based on the Government Procurement Policy Board’s (GPPB) online portal.

Goebel said they have so far provided more than P1.1 billion or $23.4 million to support the Philippine government’s efforts against Covid-19, including the development of GPPBs online portal.

“To date, the total amount of Covid-19-related awarded contracts has reached over P47.3 billion,” he said in a procurement forum organized by GPPB. “Our support for the improvement of this portal through USAID’s Deliver project has continued in line with recent efforts to further modernize procurement system in the country.”

The GPPB online portal was launched in April last year to facilitate the timely procurement of Covid-19 related purchases while also ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.

According to GPPB’s website, the online portal is the repository of Procurement Projects undertaken through Emergency Procurement under the Bayanihan Act in light of the posting limitations in the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System.

Moreover, Goebel said the procurement portal registered more than 1,600 procuring entities and helped to secure the closure of 18,000 contracts for both goods and services since its launch last year, adding that most of these are Covid-19 essentials like personal protective equipment (PPP), medicines, hygiene kits and food packs.

“Heavy portal users, such as the cities of Taguig, Pasig and Cebu, the provincial governments of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Batangas, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have all reported successful procurements of PPP sets quarantine facility needs, test kits, medicines and relief goods for their constituents through this portal,” he said.

In the same forum, GPPB also launched its Philippine Bidding Documents (PBD) Builder which makes it easier for procuring entities to draft, review, finalize and post documents for bidding activities.

The PBD Builder, which was developed by GPPB-Technical Support Office with support from USAID, will also be integrated into the GPPB online portal to support efficient public procurement.