DBM told: Include medical supplies in centralized purchasing system
Photo from Official Gazette/Website
MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) on Wednesday said there are proposals to make medical supplies part of the agency’s centralized procurement system.
In a side event of the 2025 Open Government Partnership Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting in Taguig City, a participant asked PS-DBM Executive Director Genmaries Entredicho-Caong why medicines and medical supplies are not under the PS-DBM.
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The participant said the acquisition of such supplies in some areas has become a source of corruption and that biddings for those are allegedly rigged.
“During the pandemic, those were declared as CSE, or common use and supplies equipment. That’s why we had those transactions on PPEs (personal protective equipment). But after the pandemic, those were delisted,” Entredicho-Caong explained.
Article continues after this advertisement“So we are not procuring those items anymore as CSE because they are not commonly used now. But yes, there are proposals to have these items undertaken under a centralized procurement framework,” she added.
Article continues after this advertisementEntredicho-Caong also said that the PS-DBM would determine whether an item is under CSE, in accordance with the law and subject to post-monitoring by the Government Procurement Policy Board.
“The PS-DBM is now conducting the market research and market consultations on what items can be added to our CSEs,” she said.
“It’s not yet part right now of the CSE right now because those were delisted already,” she added.
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The PS-DBM is mandated to identify supplies or items that can be purchased through central procurement.
Entredicho-Caong said that through centralized procurement, the government is able to purchase office supplies 30 to 40 percent lower than their retail price since they were procured in bulk.
She also said that the government saved around P661 million in 2020 through this procurement process.
