Hackers invited to join contest to secure gov’t procurement system

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Malacañang presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, announced the commencement of the second #KabantayNgBayan competition.

Dubbed as “Procurement Hack,” the contest provides computer hackers the chance to put their “skills” to good use by helping the government increase the security on their procurement system.

Organised by the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS), Open Data Philippines, and Globe Telecom, the contest seeks to foster transparency, as well as use the potential of civic technology to boost the public’s awareness of the government’s procurement process..

“Following the success of our first #KabantayNgBayan hackathon and Readysaster: Hack for Resilience, the Open Data Task Force is pleased to announce the launch of #KabantayNgBayan: Procurement Hack,” Lacierda said.

The first #KabantayNgBayan hackathon was aimed at the development of apps to support budget transparency; while Readysaster targeted disaster preparedness apps.

“This time, we are again inviting developers, designers, researchers, and data gurus in the country to join the Procurement Hack. Potential app ideas and challenges include helping citizens understand and monitor the procurement process, matching government needs with prospective bidders, and assembling a history or track record of previous bidders,” Lacierda said.

Teams must be composed of a mix of 3-4 developers and designers.

Interested parties may register online at the Data.gov.ph website. Registration is ongoing until November 10, while the contest proper will be from November 22-23.