FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs) FOR THE GOVERNMENT FARES AGREEMENT (GFA)

AWARENESS

1. What is the Government Fares Agreement (GFA)?

The Government Fares Agreement is an initiative of the Department of Budget and Management and the PS-PhilGEPS that will ensure fast, efficient, flexible and savings in time, energy & money when processing the air transportation needs of all government officers, employees and personnel for their official domestic trips. PS-PhilGEPS has considered Airline Tickets as commonly required by the whole of government. Thus, online reservation and purchase of airline tickets from Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific (CEB) are now considered part of the PS Catalogue of Common Supplies and Equipment (CSE).

2. What is the Legal Basis for GFA?

Please refer to the sections of Administrative Order No. 17, s. 2011 below: SECTION 1. Reiteration of Policy. The national government hereby reiterates the policy that procurement of government supplies, materials, and equipment shall be done in the most transparent and competitive manner by purchasing from legally, technically, and financially capable sources in economic lot sizes, by observing cost-efficient specifications, and by making prompt payment. In line with this, all government agencies shall procure their common-use supplies from the PS and use the PhilGEPS in all their procurement activities, including publishing all their bid opportunities and posting all their awards and contracts in it, in accordance with R.A. No. 9184. SECTION 2. Coverage. This Administrative Order shall apply to all National Government Agencies, including Military and Police Units; Government-Owned and/or -Controlled Corporations (GOCCs); Government Financial Institutions (GFIs); State Universities and Colleges (SUCs); and Local Government Units (LGUs). SECTION 6, b) Expansion of Product List. Regularly conduct a survey to determine other products commonly purchased by procuring entities for addition to the list of common-use supplies. Furthermore, you may also refer to Sec. 53 (e) of Republic Act 9184 which states, “Subject to the guidelines specified in the IRR, purchases of Goods from another agency of the Government, such as the Procurement Service of the DBM, which is tasked with a centralized procurement of commonly used Goods for the government in accordance with Letters of Instruction No. 755 and Executive Order No. 359, series of 1989.”

3. Which Government Agencies must use the GFA? The GFA initially intended to cover the 24 selected pilot agencies (list in Question No. 4) which will enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with PS-PhilGEPS and undergo hands-on training for the use of the Airline Portals. Eventually, since use of the PS-PhilGEPS for procurement of CSE is mandated under R.A. 9184 and Administrative Order 17 (refer to Question No. 2) for all government agencies and instrumentalities including local government units, it should be used by the whole of government. Note that other agencies, not appearing in the list below, may also avail of the GFA by enrolling in the system.

4. Which are the identified pilot agencies for the GFA?

The 24 pilot agencies are as follow: 1. Office of the President of the

Philippines 2. Office of the Vice-President of the

Philippines 3. Department of Education - Main

Office 4. Department of Agrarian Reform -

Main Office 5. Department of Environment and

Natural Resources - Main Office 6. Department of Budget and

Management 7. Department of Social Welfare and

Development - Main Office 8. Department of Energy 9. Department of Agriculture - Main

Office 10. Department of Finance 11. Department of Foreign Affairs - Main

Office 12. Department of Health - Main Office

13. Department of Interior and Local Government - Main Office

14. Department of Justice - Main Office 15. Department of Labor and

Employment - Main Office 16. Department of National Defense -

Procurement Unit 17. Department of Public Works and

Highways - Main Office 18. Department of Science and

Technology 19. Department of Trade and Industry -

Main Office 20. National Economic and Development

Authority - Main Office 21. Department of Transportation 22. Presidential Communications Office 23. Department of Tourism 24. Procurement Service-Philippine

Government Electronic Procurement System

These agencies were identified based from the records of DBM and Airline Partners as having the highest domestic airfare utilization.

5. Is it mandatory for Government Agencies to use PAL and CEB only? No. PS-PhilGEPS’ intention for the GFA is for other major airlines to participate so that agencies can choose the best rates and schedules for their local air travel requirements. PAL and CEB were able to comply with the initial requirements set by PS-PhilGEPS. Thus, an agreement for the use of an online portal for the GFA was initiated. In addition, they were able to extending special discounts and privileges. PS-PhilGEPS is in the process of making similar arrangements with the remaining airlines. While the GFA is being implemented, it does not prevent government agencies from procuring their requirements from other airlines when their desired travel scheduled cannot be served by PAL or CEB.

6. When will the GFA take effect? The GFA is now in effect and all agencies have to do is register.

REGISTERING IN THE GFA

7. What are the requirements for an agency to join in the GFA?

The agency must submit to the PS-PhilGEPS the following requirements:

a. Duly accomplished Travel Ticketing Registration Form which may be downloaded in the PS-PHILGEPS website at link below: http://ps-philgeps.gov.ph/home/images/BAD/GFARegistrationForm.pdf

b. Signed MOA by the Head of the Procuring Entity (HOPE). Three (3) original copies are required. The copy of the MOA may also be downloaded at this link: http://ps-philgeps.gov.ph/home/images/BAD/GFAMOA.pdf

c. Photocopy of government-issued ID of the HOPE.

d. Duly accomplished Agency Procurement Request Form 02 which may be downloaded in the PS-PhilGEPS website at link below: http://ps-philgeps.gov.ph/home/images/Downloads/APR%20FORM%20NO.%2002.xlsx

e. Fund Transfer

8. How to Register in GFA?

In order to be enrolled in the GFA to use the portals for reservations and bookings, the government agency must:

1. Go to PS-PhilGEPS website (www.ps-philgeps.gov.ph) then click the Procurement Service logo. Download the required documents indicated in Question No. 7

2. Submit the accomplished documents and payment to the Sales Division of PS-PhilGEPS Main Office (Paco, Manila)

3. PS-PhilGEPS will issue an Official Receipt 4. PS-PhilGEPS Officer will register the agency to the web portals of the airline

partners 5. Agency will receive an e-mail notification regarding the account activation which

includes the credit line, User ID and password within two (2) weeks 6. Log in at the preferred airline web portal through www.ps-philgeps.gov.ph using

the Procurement Service link and go to “What We Sell” then click “Airline Travel” 9. What is the Tax Identification Number (TIN) of PS-PhilGEPS?

The PS-PhilGEPS TIN is 000-449-457-016.

10. For check deposit, what should we indicate as Payor to? Please indicate Procurement Service in the required field.

11. How can a government agency comply with the requirements if located outside NCR?

We suggest that the requirements should be submitted to the nearest PS Depot Office in the area of the procuring entity. The PS Depot Office will then coordinate with PS-Main for the creation of the accounts of the agency.

BENEFITS

12. What are the benefits of the Government Fares Agreement to Government

Agencies? Under the GFA, agencies will have following benefits:

Philippine Airlines Cebu Pacific

Easy access and efficient booking of airline ticket through the travel portals of PAL and CEB in the PS website

Waived Processing/Web Administration Fee of P250.00 on all domestic bookings

No charges on first rebooking Access to Agency’s credit line 8 to 9% discount on fares*

Waived Processing Fee ($12.00) on all international bookings

Access to VIP Lounge and additional 10 kg baggage allowance**

Features Online Travel Fund Management

*Exclusive of one percent (1%) Service Fee **Limited to assigned Heads of the Agencies

13. Are airline tickets purchased under the GFA tax-free?

Basically, airline tickets are non-taxable since this is a Government to Government Agreement. The PS-PhilGEPS will be responsible for the taxes.

14. Can an agency book nternational flights through GFA?

Yes, international flights operated by the Airline Partners are available in the portal. However, the GFA covers discounts for domestic/local tickets only. As of the moment, only the ticketing service fee is waived by PAL for international tickets which amount to Twelve Dollars ($12.00) per ticket.

15. How can agencies avail of the PAL Elite Membership Card?

Since the Elite Membership Cards issued by PAL are only limited, these will be reserved for the HOPEs of the pilot agencies or to other agencies until such cards are exhausted.

OTHER CONCERNS

16. How would agencies know if the airline ticket in the Airline Web Portal is already

the discounted price? The Airline Web Portal already reflects the discounted airfare. Special promotions such as “Weekend Sale” and other promotional airfares are not covered by the GFA. Agencies are not precluded from availing of these promotions.

17. Can agencies purchase directly to PAL or CEB? Yes, it is discouraged, though. Other than the possibility of receiving Commission on Audit (COA) suspension or disallowances in audit, the discounted rates and other conditions under the GFA will not be extended if it is not done through the PS-PhilGEPS-activated portal access.

18. Can government employees avail of the GFA for personal travel?

No, the special discounted fares and other benefits will only be extended to official travels and agencies enrolled under the GFA.

19. How will agencies replenish their funds under the GFA? To clarify terminologies, the Airline Web Portals use the term “credit line” for the available funds of each agency against which purchase of travel tickets may be drawn against. However, since the agency has duly deposited in advance with the PS-PhilGEPS funds for the GFA, it works as funds held in trust or a “debit line”. The agency will be notified by the PS-Accounting Division when its deposit with PS-PhilGEPS has been consumed at 50% level and when it is time to replenish its travel fund.

20. How will bookings be affected when the agency has reached availment of 50% of their debit/credit line? What if the debit/credit line has been totally exhausted? The booking of the agency will not be affected if the credit/debit reaches 50% because they still have advance payment. The agency, however, will be receiving notifications for the replenishment of their funds. When the funds are totally exhausted, the agency will temporarily be unable to book flights and such privilege will only be re-activated by the Airline Partners upon the advice of the PS-PhilGEPS Comptroller after receipt of the fund replenishment.

21. Can agencies use or transfer their unutilized deposits from undelivered Common and Non-Common Use Supplies/Requirements lodged under Due To/Due From Agencies and use these to procure under the GFA? No. While we have classified air fares as Commonly Used there will be an issue especially in the Accounting Division of the agencies in terms of recording and reporting. The budget for Office Supplies and Travel are separate line items in the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) and there is a procedure in order to re-align such funds. Therefore, for proper monitoring and efficiency of the process, PS-PhilGEPS shall maintain the utilization of these funds separately.

22. Will agencies need to prepare an Agency Procurement Request (APR) Form every time they avail of booking under the GFA? No. APRs will only be required when the agencies enter into a MOA and deposit the advance funding. Subsequent APRs will only be prepared by the agencies when they replenish their funds with the PS-PhilGEPS.

23. What if an agency will not sign the MOA or enrol in the GFA? The MOA will ensure that agencies are dedicated to the provisions set forth under GFA and operationalize procurement of air travel tickets at special benefits and discounted fares.

24. From an enrolled agency, who must attend the orientation and training on the

GFA and use of the Airline Web Portal?

From a government agency, only two (2) representatives are required to attend, namely -the Division Head or the authorized signatory of the agency; the appointed Corporate Administrator or the Travel Arranger.

25. Who should be the Corporate Administrator? What are his/her roles?

The Corporate Administrator is:

a) the Authorized representative of the agency b) the initial travel arranger of the agency c) responsible in managing travel arrangers and branch office d) can add/create new offices, edit details of the offices, activate or deactivate a

branch office, and Delete any branch office e) can add/create new travel arranger/s, edit details of the travel arranger/s,

activate, deactivate, or delete a Travel arranger f) can reset password for a specific travel arranger g) can assign roles upon creation of new travel arranger, Corp Administrator can

assign roles h) responsible in handling the credit line of the company i) can assign or remove access of a travel arranger to the credit line

26. What does a Travel Arranger do?

The Travel Arranger:

a) handles the booking facility in the portal b) manages the Address book c) has access to the reservations list for managing bookings d) ensures that ticket numbers are generated once a booking is paid e) ensures that passenger receives e-ticket f) receives e-mail alerts on flight changes will be received by the travel arranger,

he/she therefore, should be able to alert the passenger of any change in the itinerary

27. We observed that there is also a payment option for credit card. How can we

control Travel Arrangers from purchasing airline tickets through the GFA using their personal credit cards for fares?

Since disabling the Credit Card payment feature would complicate the management of accounts, an internal policy should be implemented by the agency to prevent the improper use of accounts created through the GFA and its benefits. PAL and CEB will also provide PS a report reflecting all transactions made using Credit Card as Form of

Payment if any. It will be monitored by PS to ensure that Credit Line Payment option will only be used. Personal interests will be considered a deviation of the GFA. The computation will be the difference of the GFA rate and gross rate plus Ticketing Service Charge for such transactions.

28. Can a Travel Arranger choose a preferred seat for a passenger?

In the web portal, the Travel Arranger may choose from the designated seating locations which are free of cost only. Again, an internal procedure should be developed by an agency to guide the Travel Arrangers and avoid unwanted charges.

29. Can an agency request for an in-house GFA orientation and hands-on training?

Yes, through a formal letter signed by a duly authorized official of agency addressed to Ms. Leah Marasigan-Valdez, Chief of the Marketing Division. The request should also contain the schedule (date and time), venue, number of participants and indicate shouldering of meals and required equipment. The signed letter may be scanned and emailed to pjdeguzman@ps-philgeps.gov.ph for faster accommodation.

30. Can an agency pull out the remaining balances for GFA?

Yes, the designated Main Contact Person of the agency may coordinate with the Comptroller Division of PS to process such request provided, however, that indeed there are still balances.

31. How should we determine which airline to choose?

Implementation of an internal policy is suggested to get the most beneficial to the government. Government agencies are advised to discuss this within the organization to come up with reliable procedures in getting the best airline fare value for their passengers.

32. Is there a minimum and maximum amount to be maintained for the travel fund?

There is no minimum or maximum amount required. We suggest, though, that you deposit one (1) quarter of your annual total airline fare requirement to give room for other bookings in airlines not covered by the GFA.

33. In case at a later time we decided to increase or decrease the travel fund, do we

need to execute another MOA?

Should you wish to increase or decrease the travel fund, only a supplemental MOA will be required.