Education Secretary Sonny Angara has signed an order ensuring the timely delivery of educational materials and the smooth implementation of projects.

The DepEd Memorandum 049, s. 2024 mandates early procurement activities across the Department of Education (DepEd). It is designed to fast-track the procurement of goods and services, including textbooks, learning tools and infrastructure projects for fiscal year 2025.

“We are making every effort to improve our procurement process and accelerate its pace,” Angara said during the recent House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations hearing.

Early procurement activities allow DepEd’s procurement entities to initiate activities early, ensuring contracts for goods, infrastructure projects and consulting services are awarded ahead of the following fiscal year.

This process covers all procurement stages — from posting opportunities to the recommendation of the Bids and Awards Committee to the Head of Procuring Entities — pending budget approval. It applies to procurement projects via Competitive Bidding and Alternative Methods, excluding certain exceptions such as repeat orders, emergency cases and small-value procurements.

For fiscal year 2025, all DepEd governance levels will engage in early procurement activities.

At the DepEd central office, this will focus on high-priority projects, including textbooks, e-learning cart packages, testing materials and learning tools and equipment.

Regional and school division offices will also conduct early procurement activities for their respective projects, including those overseen by the central office such as smart-TV packages, laptops, school furniture, electrification projects, school health facilities and the construction of last-mile school buildings.

Angara said the bidding process for these projects will begin in October with contracts expected to be awarded and notices to proceed issued by January 2025.