BUTUAN CITY -- The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Secretariat, Technical Working Group, and members of national government agencies (NGAs) including the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga attended the training on Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PHILGEPS) fundamentals, system navigation and  Version 1.5 on October 12 to 13, 2022 via Zoom as response to the procurement needs of government entities. 

Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act was signed into law by former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on January 10, 2003 and was published on January 11, 2003. It took effect on January 26, 2003 pursuant to fifteen days timeline following its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

The 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA No. 9184 mandates the utilization of the PHILGEPS to serve as the primary and definitive source of information on government procurement .

The modernization of PHILGEPS primarily to address recurring concern on unresponsive and sluggish 14-year-old system was tackled. Upgrading PHILGEPS will result to improve reliability, performance and increase number of users accessing the site.  The training covers the functions that will be carried over to the new version and the additional and better features of the updated PHILGEPS.

PHILGEPS 1.5 intends to replace the existing version of the system until a modernized PHILGEPS is up and available to continuously provide a service that will allow government agencies to post their bid and award information and allow merchants to access current and updated registration and eligibility documents with ease.

The two-day activity was facilitated by E-Blackboards Learning and Solutions, Inc., an outsourced private company and training provider of the Procurement Service- PHILGEPS. (RLE/PIA-Caraga)