To continually respond to the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB)’s mandate on using the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) in all its procurement transactions, four ASCOT BAC Members and the BAC Secretary attended the “PhilGEPS Buyers Training Phase 1” on January 30-31, 2020 at the EBLSI Training Center, West Capitol Drive, Pasig City.

The said training was deemed very important for ASCOT personnel involved in procurement activities to enable them to take appropriate action and conform with PhilGEPS’ aim to establish an open, transparent, efficient and competitive marketplace for government procurement, get better prices, build the framework for continually improve the procurement process and to maintain sustainability of its operations over the long term. The benefits of using PhilGEPS’ to the government and to the merchants, updates and new features of the electronic bulletin board were likewise discussed. Utilizing hands-on technique, some of the following features were explored by the training-participants; creation of the Bid Notice Abstract; Award Notices and Award Notices Abstract, which according to the speaker, agencies sometimes fail to comply; the AMP Award Creation, Subscriber Registry, CSO, Auditor Directory, and the GOP-OMR, among others.

ASCOT participants were grateful for the formal training they had wherein they were able to fully grasp the importance of the PhilGEPS as basic requirement in the procurement process, the procedures involved and the requirements that have to be complied.

-Araceli Bitancor