PAL deal to save gov't more than P1.3B on official domestic travels

Official domestic trips of government officials and employees will get an 8-percent discount from Philippine Airlines (PAL) starting May, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Tuesday.

The airline has also agreed to drop the P250 processing fee per ticket under the General Fares Agreement (GFA) with the government.

The DBM figured it could save more than P1.350 billion on official travel from the deal with PAL.

“With the 8-percent discount on economy class travel, the government is estimated to save P830.93 million, and with the waiver of the P250 processing fee, the government will save P519.38 million," the department said in an emailed statement.

The government has allotted P10.3-billion budget to domestic airline travel for 2016, the DBM noted.

The department said a 2015 survey by the Procurement Service-Philippine Government Electronic Procurement Service (PS-PhilGEPS) showed airline tickets were the top commonly required item in the procurement activities of government agencies.

“Our partnership with Philippine Airlines will greatly impact government transactions for domestic airline travel. As part of the government’s common requirement which we will aggregate, we can purchase airline tickets faster and easier,” PS Executive Director Jose Tomas C. Syquia said.

The program dubbed “Domestic Air Travel as a Common Use” will start in May, with training programs for hands-on use and navigation of the PAL portal within the PS-PhilGEPS website.

“During the initial implementation, ticket purchases will be charged under the PS-PhilGEPS’ revolving fund, in coordination with the Land Bank of the Philippines to take into account the existing credit lines of government agencies,” the DBM said. – Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News