DIGITAL CARD. Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman (right) and Landbank president and CEO Lynette Ortiz shake hands after signing a memorandum of agreement on the use of a Government Purchase Card, at the Landbank Plaza in Malate, Manila on Thursday (Aug. 3, 2023). The GPC aims to simplify the purchase of goods and services by government agencies. (Photo courtesy of the DBM)
MANILA – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Land Bank of the Philippines have forged a partnership for the use of a digital government card that would facilitate faster and cost-efficient transactions.
DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and Landbank president and chief executive officer Lynette Ortiz signed on Thursday a memorandum of agreement on the use of a Government Purchase Card (GPC) that simplifies the purchase of goods and services by government agencies.
Under the MOA, the GPC can be used to pay for government agencies’ immediate miscellaneous expenses without going through the time-consuming paperwork and requisition process.
The GPC, programmed with pre-assigned credit limits and merchant restrictions, is a charge or credit card that will be issued and facilitated by Landbank to authorized government personnel, the DBM said in a statement on Friday.
Its features include a 30-day revolving credit with full settlement on the due date; access to point-of-sale and e-commerce transactions; global acceptance; email alerts for all GPC transactions regardless of amount; and electronic statements of account.
Its benefits for government agencies include reduced administrative costs; enhanced control of expenses and cash liquidity management.
The use of the digital card is part of the DBM’s pursuit of digital transformation for the entire bureaucracy.
During the MOA signing, Pangandaman said the collaboration with Landbank is a milestone for cost savings and another step towards the achievement of bureaucratic efficiency and ease of doing business.
She said the GPC would enhance control because of its pre-defined credit limit feature, expense capture and monitoring, and secure payment process.
“With the agreement signing of another game-changing digital initiative, the use of a Government Purchase Card or GPC, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to the Land Bank of the Philippines for partnering with us and making sure that this initiative will be implemented at the soonest possible time,” Pangandaman said.
“It will significantly reduce administrative costs by lessening cash and check handling and paperwork; simplifying reconciliation processes; shortening the requisition process; and promoting employee convenience.”
Ortiz, meanwhile, expressed Landbank’s commitment to adhering to the responsibilities of good governance.
She said she is confident that the DBM would benefit from the use of the GPC to eliminate procurement lead time, facilitate quicker payments, and reduce administrative costs for purchases.
“Landbank is certainly one with the DBM in the shared commitment of enhanced operational efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the disbursement of public funds. Through the GPC, we aim to further streamline the purchase of goods and services, thereby the delivery of meaningful and responsive public service,” Ortiz said.
DBM Chief of Staff Leo Angelo Larcia and Landbank senior vice president Ma. Celeste Burgos both signed as witnesses to the MOA.
Also present at the MOA signing were DBM Undersecretaries Wilford Will Wong, Maria Francesca del Rosario, and Goddes Hope Libiran, along with the department’s other assistant secretaries, directors and division chiefs.
The signing ceremony was held at the Landbank Plaza in Malate, Manila. (PNA)
