Republic
Act 9184, also known as the Government Procurement Act covers all procurement
of Infrastructure Projects, Goods, and Consulting Services, regardless of
source of funds, whether local or foreign, by all branches and
instrumentalities of government, its departments, offices and agencies,
including government-owned and/or -controlled corporations and local government
units, subject to the provisions of Commonwealth
Act No. 138.
Procurement
refers to the acquisition of Goods,
Consulting Services, and the contracting for Infrastructure Projects
by the Procuring Entity. Procurement shall also include the lease of
goods and real estate. With respect to real property, its procurement shall be
governed by the provisions of Republic Act No. 8974, entitled “An Act to
Facilitate the Acquisition of Right-of-Way Site or Location for National
Government Infrastructure Projects and for Other Purposes”, and other
applicable laws, rules and regulations.
Under the
said law, all Procurement shall be done through competitive bidding except
in cases where alternative modes of procurement are allowed.
Competitive
Bidding
refers to a method of procurement which is open to participation by any
interested party and which consists of the following processes:
1. Advertisement;
2. Pre-bid
conference;
3. Eligibility
screening of prospective bidders;
4. Receipt and opening
of bids;
5. Evaluation
of bids;
6. Post-qualification
and
7. Award of
contract
Alternative
Methods of Procurement:
1. Limited Source Bidding (also known as Selective
Bidding) –
a method of Procurement that involves direct invitation to bid by the Procuring
Entity from a set of preselected suppliers or consultants with known experience
and proven capability relative to the requirements of a particular contract;
Limited Source Bidding may be resorted to only
in any of the following conditions:
(a) Procurement of highly specialized types of
Goods and Consulting Services which are known to be obtainable only from a
limited number of sources; or
(b) Procurement of major plant components where
it is deemed advantageous to limit the bidding to known eligible bidders in
order to maintain an optimum and uniform level of quality and performance of
the plant as a whole.
2. Direct Contracting (also known as Single Source
Procurement)
– a method of Procurement that does not require elaborate Bidding Documents
because the supplier is simply asked to submit a price quotation or a pro-forma
invoice together with the conditions of sale, which offer may be accepted
immediately or after some negotiations;
Direct Contracting may be resorted to only in
any of the following conditions:
(a) Procurement of Goods of proprietary nature,
which can be obtained only from the proprietary source, i.e. when patents,
trade secrets and copyrights prohibit others from manufacturing the same item;
(b) When the Procurement of critical components
from a specific manufacturer, supplier or distributor is a condition precedent
to hold a contractor to guarantee its project performance, in accordance with
the provisions of his contract; or,
(c) Those sold by an exclusive dealer or
manufacturer, which does not have sub-dealers selling at lower prices and for
which no suitable substitute can be obtained at more advantageous terms to the
Government.
3. Repeat Order – a method of Procurement
that involves a direct Procurement of Goods from the previous winning bidder,
whenever there is a need to replenish Goods procured under a contract
previously awarded through Competitive Bidding;
When provided for in the Annual Procurement
Plan, Repeat Order may be allowed wherein the Procuring Entity directly
procures Goods from the previous winning bidder whenever there arises a need to
replenish goods procured under a contract previously awarded through
Competitive Bidding, subject to post-qualification process prescribed in the
Bidding Documents and provided all the following conditions are present:
(a) The unit price must be equal to or lower
than that provided in the original contract;
(b) The repeat order does not result in
splitting of requisitions or purchase orders;
(c) Except in special circumstances defined in
the IRR, the repeat order shall be availed of only within six (6) months from
the date of the Notice to Proceed arising from the original contract; and,
(d) The repeat order shall not exceed
twenty-five percent (25%) of the quantity of each item of the original
contract.
4. Shopping – a method of Procurement whereby
the Procuring Entity simply requests for the submission of price quotations for
readily available off-the-shelf Goods or ordinary/regular equipment to be
procured directly from suppliers of known qualification; or
Shopping
may be resorted to under any of the following instances:
(a) When there is an unforeseen contingency
requiring immediate purchase: Provided, however, That the amount shall not
exceed Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000); or
(b) Procurement of ordinary or regular office
supplies and equipment not available in the Procurement Service involving an
amount not exceeding Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos (P250,000): Provided,
however, That the Procurement does not result in Splitting of Contracts:
Provided, further, That at least three (3) price quotations from bona fide
suppliers shall be obtained. The above amounts shall be subject to a periodic
review by the GPPB. For this purpose, the GPPB shall be authorized to increase
or decrease the said amount in order to reflect changes in economic conditions
and for other justifiable reasons.
5. Negotiated Procurement – shall
only be allowed under the following cases:
a. In cases of two failed biddings;
b. In case
of imminent danger to life or property during a state of calamity, or when time
is of the essence arising from natural or man-made calamities or other causes
where immediate action is necessary to prevent damage to or loss of life or
property, or to restore vital public services, infrastructure facilities and
other public utilities;
c. Take-over of contracts, which have been
rescinded or terminated for causes provided for in the contract and existing
laws, where immediate action is necessary to prevent damage to or loss of life
or property, or to restore vital public services, infrastructure facilities and
other public utilities;
d. Where the subject contract is adjacent or
contiguous to an on-going infrastructure project, as defined in the Implementing Rules and Regulations;
Provided, however, That the original contract is the result of a Competitive
Bidding; the subject contract to be negotiated has similar or related scopes of
work; it is within the contracting capacity of the contractor; the contractor
uses the same prices or lower unit prices as in the original contract less
mobilization cost; the amount involved does not exceed the amount of the
ongoing project; and, the contractor has no negative slippage: Provided,
further, That negotiations for the procurement are commenced before the expiry
of the original contract. Whenever applicable, this principle shall also govern
consultancy contracts, where the consultants have unique experience and
expertise to deliver the required service; or
e. Subject to the guidelines specified in the Implementing
Rules and Regulations, 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.
The
Alternative Method of Procurement may be resorted only to highly exceptional cases, to promote economy and efficiency, and justified by conditions specified in the law and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.
In
all instances, the Procuring Entity shall ensure that the most advantageous
price for the Government is obtained.
For
further information on Government Procurement, please refer to Government
Procurement Policy Board at www. gppb.gov.ph.
References:
1.
Republic Act
9184;
2.
Implementing
Rules and Regulations of RA 9184
Last Updated:
30 June 2015
Republic
of the Philippines
