As the education utilizes the largest budget allocation on record.
Last February 2, the Department of Education (DepEd) formaized a partnership with Open Ownership through the signing of a memorandum of agreement.
Open Ownership is an international organization that assists governments in implementing beneficial ownership transparency.
According to the department, this was signed to make DepEd a “pilot agency” in the use of beneficial ownership data in procurement, or determining who actually owns, controls, and benefits companies that win government contracts.
It also cited it as an “important step” in implementing reforms and advancing data-driven governance.
Both camps will conduct a retrospective analysis of selected procurement contracts to see how beneficial ownership information can help identify potential conflicts of interest, undeclared business relationships, repeated wins by the same bidder, and excessive market control by a few companies.
The pilot will also test which data is most useful, and check the specific part of the procurement where it is most important, and how its impact can be measured.
Open Ownership will also provide technical assistance, capacity-building, and analytical tools to DepEd officials handling procurement through activities like hands-on workshops and yhe collaborative development of a framework to measure how beneficial ownership data improves procurement outcomes.
“Gusto naming malaman kung sino talaga ang nasa likod ng mga kumpanyang katransaksiyon ng gobyerno,” told Education Secretary Sonny Angara. “Kapag malinaw iyon, mas madaling maiwasan ang problema at mas mabilis na maihatid ang silid-aralan, libro, at tulong na kailangan ng mga bata. Mas siguradong sa paaralan napupunta ang pera, hindi sa bulsa ng iilan.”
In 2026, DepEd is deemed as the largest procurement agency in the entire government with over PHP1 trillion budget.
These procurement projects include classrooms, textbooks, school buildings, and other support needs of students nationwide.
According to Angara, this is part of the DepEd’s ongoing reforms to improve budget execution and reduce procurement risks, and ensure the timely delivery of classrooms, learning materials, and services needed by students.
Hence, for DepEd, the clearer and better risk management is essential to ensure that funds reach schools faster and more effectively.
They also emphasized that this pilot project is a learning and system strengthening exercise, and not an investigation or indictment of any wrongdoing.
Its results will be used as a basis for improving the department’s policies, internal controls, and procurement processes, it further clarified.
This move is also in line with the New Government Procurement Act, which established beneficial ownership transparency as a safeguard against corruption and collusion in public contracting.
The law now requires suppliers to declare who actually controls or benefits from their company, and shifts the procurement system from simple compliance with rules to more risk-based and evidence-driven management.