OGP Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting 2025 (Side Event)
February 5, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Grand Hyatt Manila
To my colleagues in the Philippine Government, especially in the Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM);
Representatives from development organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
Civil society leaders, global and regional partners, and policymakers from across Asia and the Pacific;
Our friends from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Minister of Finance, and Budget and Management, Atty. Ubaida C. Pacasem;
Thank you for coming! Good morning.
Assalamu alaikum wa Raḥmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
Finally, the moment that we have been waiting for is here and I am honored to say—welcome to the 2025 Open Government Partnership (OGP) Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting and this side event on Transparency in Public Procurement.
There will be many discussions at the meeting. We have around 35 side events, 20 interactive breakout sessions, and three high-level roundtable and plenary discussions, to be joined by more than a thousand participants from 43 countries.
But this one especially means a lot to me because as some of you know, procurement reform was number one on my agenda from my very first day as Budget and Management Secretary and to be able to present our New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) now to the world as one of the best practices in procurement reform really makes me proud—proud as a public servant and proud as a Filipino.
As we all know, procurement is one of the governance aspects most prone to corruption. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that almost 50 percenti of the world’s annual government spending goes to public procurement projects, making it an easy and widely available conduit for corruption. Thus, enhancing transparency in procurement is the first line of defense against such schemes that threaten the integrity of our public procurement and our government.
Today, I am proud to share that the Philippines has already made a mark in history with the signing of the NGPA by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in July 2024—less than a year after I presented this as one of the reforms that the new administration was working on at the OGP Global Summit in Tallinn, Estonia, noting that the NGPA amends our 20-year-old Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).
After passing the law, thanks to the hard work and collaboration of the DBM, Procurement Service-DBM, and the Government Procurement Policy Board-Technical Support Office (GPPB-TSO), we have already approved the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the NGPA, aptly hailed as the biggest anti-corruption measure in the country’s recent history.
So now, allow me to present how the NGPA strengthens and modernizes the procurement system, enhances the participation of the civil society and the private sector at all stages of the procurement process, and combat corruption towards a more transparent, accountable, and efficient bureaucracy.
Strengthening Systems
Towards bureaucratic efficiency, the NGPA strengthens the country’s digital capabilities, allowing procuring entities to just “Add to Cart,” similar to e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Shopee, or Amazon.
Last December 2024, the PS-DBM officially launched the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System or the PhilGEPS’ eMarketplace which significantly reduces procurement timeline and costs and improves transparency and accountability.
To streamline the whole process, the modernized PhilGEPS also includes electronic bidding and electronic payment facilities, allowing for an end-to-end electronic procurement process that improves the timely delivery of public services and budget utilization.
Moreover, the digitalization of the procurement process provides an audit trail of electronic payments and transactions so that we can monitor irregularities. It also allows us to leverage data analytics and formulate evidence-based policies to guide and improve procurement planning.
These advantages and benefits could be attested by our counterparts in South Korea and Indonesia, which also operate their respective electronic procurement systems, namely, the Korea ON-line E-Procurement System (KONEPS) and the E-Katalog.
I am also happy to share that all these are reinforced by our various digitalization efforts. In October 2024, we endorsed to the President the Public Financial Management (PFM) Reforms Roadmap 2024-2028, our blueprint for modernizing and harmonizing our PFM system, including public procurement as one of the strategic focus areas.
Enhancing Citizen Participation
Our efforts to strengthen our systems through digitalization come alongside the need to enhance citizen participation in public procurement activities.
To uphold participatory procurement and integrate feedback mechanisms, we will collaborate with our civil society organization (CSO) partners who will be invited as observers in procurement proceedings.
Having independent oversight as an additional layer of protection ensures that public funds are safeguarded against unethical spending and corrupt practices.
We will likewise ensure that all stakeholders have access to procurement information.
This landmark reform promotes open contracting which enables disclosure of data and documents at all stages of procurement, from planning to contract implementation. Through this, we can say that we are truly at par with global best practices since open contracting is recommended by international bodies such as the European Commission, the World Bank, and the United Nations, among others.
Moreover, we now require the beneficial ownership information of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, contractors, and consultants, which will be accessible to the public through an online registry maintained by the GPPB. This will ultimately prevent and mitigate the risk of conflicts of interest and corruption.
Closing
In closing, true to the theme of this side event, transparency in public procurement is sustained by strengthening systems, enhancing citizen participation, and encouraging private sector engagement. These are vital for restoring public confidence in governance in issues of corruption.
To this end, let us continue the discussion on strengthening the integrity of our respective public procurement systems.
I am especially grateful for our speakers. Aside from the Philippines’ very own PS-DBM, we also learned from the representatives from South Korea’s Public Procurement Service (PPS), and Indonesia’s National Public Procurement Agency, more commonly known as LKPPii. We also heard from our OGP champions from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or the Philippine Central Bank representing the government sector, WeSolve Foundation representing the civil society, and Toyota Motor Philippines representing the private sector. With these incredible speakers, the discussions today definitely gave us great insight on how to improve and best utilize procurement systems from a global perspective.
As you know, the NGPA will only succeed through collaborative governance and a whole-of-society approach. So we must embrace this Partnership to build trust and demonstrate integrity in a nation where citizens can rely on the transparent, accountable, and efficient use of government resources geared towards a truly inclusive and sustainable economic transformation.
Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing you at the other side events and our plenary discussions.
Wabillahi Tawfiq Wal Hidaya, Wasalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu.
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