Fighting corruption is high on government agendas, which demands new and innovative solutions. In light of the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, the Philippines ranked 115 out of 180 countries globally with a score of 34 out of 100, where a perfect score of 100 means very clean while zero means highly corrupt.

Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman described the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) as “the biggest anti-corruption law in modern times” during her pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) interview. The NGPA leverages digitalization as a strategic approach to address the pervasive issue of corruption. The digitization of payment transactions is an essential milestone in advancing anti-corruption systems into the 21st century.

Section 21 of the NGPA provides for the establishment of a standardized electronic payment system to be used by Procuring Entities, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, contractors, consultants, and service providers to further increase efficiency, improve compliance, minimize the risk of corruption, reduce paper usage, and create a more detailed audit trail. The integration of electronic payment systems with data analytics facilitates the identification of suspicious patterns, fraudulent activities, and instances of non-compliance in payment disbursement.

Embracing electronic payments in government procurement is a step towards a more efficient, transparent, and sustainable future. Let’s support this digital transformation for the advancement of government procurement

Stay tuned for more of the NGPA Series!!!

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