Procurement shoutbox

GPPB's Latest Issuances

2010-12-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

Here are two (2) of the GPPB's latest issuances:

Resolution No. 05-2010 approved on October 29, 2010 re: Guidelines on Procurement of Printing Services

Under Section 29, General Provisions of RA 9970 (2010 GAA), procuring entities have the option to engage the services of private printers for their printing and publication expenditures subject to public bidding in accordance with RA 9184 and pertinent accounting and auditing rules and regulations. However, printing of accountable forms and sensitive high quality/volume requirements shall only be undertaken by Recognized Government Printers (RGP) namely: Bangko Sentral, National Printing Office and APO Production Unit, Inc. In cases where the RGPs, upon determination by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), cannot undertake the printing services due to time constraints and equipment limitations, the procuring entity may engage the services of private printers. Not covered by the guidelines are the printing of official ballots and campaign paraphernalia, including statement of votes, certificates of canvass and paper seals which is governed by the Omnibus Election Code.

Circular No. 02-2010, issued on November 24, 2010 - re: Guidelines on Comparison of Bids submitted by Cooperatives

Under Section 32.2.2 of the IRR of RA 9184, all bidders are required to include the cost of all taxes like VAT, income tax,local taxes and other fiscal levies and duties which shall be itemized in the bid forms and reflected in the detailed estimates. Such bids including taxes shall be the basis for bid evaluation and comparison. However, cooperatives are granted by law tax exemptions, therefore they enjoy a clear advantage over non-cooperatives. To level the playing field, all taxes itemized by non-cooperatives in their bid and which cooperatives are exempt from, shall be added to the bids of cooperatives strictly for evaluation and comparison. If after evaluation and comparison, the bid submitted by a cooperative is still the lowest bid, the taxes added shall be removed and the award of contract shall be based on the original bid price.

Guidelines for Shopping and Small Value Procurement out!

2009-11-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

The GPPB has issued the guidelines for two (2) other alternative modes of procurement. Approved via Referendum on September 30, 2009, Resolution No. 09-2009, provides the guidelines for Shopping under Section 52.1 and Small Value Procurement under Section 53.9 all of the IRR. The guidelines prescribed in the Resolution is summarized below:

General Guidelines:

- decision to resort to Shopping or Small Value Procurement shall be reflected in the APP taking into consideration annual requirement of items to be procured, market factors and price fluctuations. Once decision is made, the procurement may be delegated to the support unit duly authorized by the BAC.

Procedural Guidelines:

- Preparation of Request for Quotation (RFQ)- indicating the specification of the items to be procured, quantity, ABC, other terms and conditions. The RFQ shall prescribe the manner of submission (sealed or open quotation), and the deadline. Information relating to evaluation and comparison of price quotation shall be kept confidential. RFQ shall be sent to at least three (3) suppliers, contractors or consultants of known qualification. If mode of procurement is shopping under Section 52.1(a)[during unforeseen contingency], the RFQ shall be sent to only one (1) supplier.

- Posting - The RFQ shall be posted for seven (7) calendar days in the PhilGEPS website, PE's website and conspicuous place. Posting is not required during shopping when there is unforeseen contingency (Section 52.1(a); or when the ABC is worth P50,000 and below.

- Submission deadline - Duly accomplished RFQ shall be submitted before the deadline as specified by the BAC. However, said deadline may be extended if none or less than the required number of price quotations are received. In like manner, the extension shall be posted.

- Award of Contract - This shall be made to the lowest quotation (for goods and infra) or to the highest rated offer (consulting services) - upon determination of compliance to specification and other terms and conditions as specified in the RFQ. Award of Contract shall similarly be posted, except for those with ABC of P50,000 and below. The PE shall require relevant documents or resort to other means to determine that it is entering into contract with the technically, legally and financially capable supplier, contractor or consultant.

I trust, procuring entities will find procurement a lot easier and faster with this simplified quidelines.

Increased Thresholds for Contract by Administration and other Updates

2009-11-12T04:34:00.000-08:00

The GPPB has recently issued two (2) Resolutions amending certain procurement guidelines, to wit:

A) Resolution No. 07-2009, amending the guidelines for Implementation of Infrastructure Projects by Administration (Annex I of the IRR). Specifically, the resolution increases the threshold amount of infrastructure projects that can be undertaken by Administration or "Force Account", to conform with the provisions of the 2009 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and the 2010 National Expenditure Program (NEP)pertaining to the DPWH budget. The revised thresholds are:

a.1) P20 M or less - to be undertaken by procuring entities without prior approval;

a.2) P20 M up to P50 M - prior authority shall be obtained from the DPWH Secretary;

a.3) More than P50 M - requires prior authority from the President.

A project costing more than P20 M may be undertaken by Administration subject to conditions as prescribed under Sec. 3.3 of Annex I.

B) Resoluton NO. 08-2009 - Guidelines for Lease of privately-owned Real Estate and Venue. The guidelines amends Resolution No. 019-2007 and includes the lease of "Venue" consistent with Sec. 53.10 under Negotiated Procurement of the Revised IRR.

Amendment to the Revised IRR

2009-10-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

While the roll-out-training is underway nationwide, the GPPB has recently issued Resolution No. 2009-06 approving the amendments to certain provisions of the revised IRR of the GPRA.

Here's a summary of the Sections affected:

a) Section 22.3 - on the conduct of Pre-Bid Conference
b) Section 22.5.3 - on the posting of Supplemental Bid Bulletin
c) Section 24.5.2 - on the short listing of Prospective bidders for Consulting
d) Section 25.2(b)(i)- on the eligibility requirement for infrastructure project
e) Sections 27.2 and 39.2 - on the forms of bid and performance security
f) Section 32.2.1(b) - on arithmetical correction during bid evaluation
g) Section 53.7 - on negotiated procurement for highly technical consultants
h) Various sections of Annex G re: Design and Build for Infra projects

The said Resolution can be downloaded from the GPPB web site.

Errata in the recently issued PBDs.

2009-10-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

The GPPB has posted in its website certain errata in the Philippine Bidding Documents (PBDs). BAC members, Secretariat and TWGs, please make the necessary correction on the one that you have downloaded. Click this link to view the errata.

Urgently needed: PBDs compliant with the Revised IRR!

2009-10-02T23:08:00.002-07:00

It's been a month since the revised IRR on GPRA (RA 9184) took effect but procuring entities cannot fully comply with the revised provisions since the GPPB has not yet officially issued the revised Philippine Bidding Documents (PBD) that is consistent with the said revised IRR.

The Regional Composite Team has the same predicament as the roll-out of the Revised IRR has commenced for LGUs in Region VI. In fact two (2) batches consisting of four (4) schools have been completed as of this post. The participants would like to get hold of the revised PBDs when they go back to their respective stations.

In its website, the GPPB has posted a Notice that the working draft of the PBDs for Goods and Infra has been uploaded, and procuring entities are advised to carefully examine the working daft before using the same for its forthcoming biddings. Per its timetable, the final version of the PBD should be approved by the GPPB by end of September.

The working PBD drafts can be downloaded here: http://www.gppb.gov.ph/downloadables/default.asp.

2009-10-02T23:08:00.001-07:00

Training sked for Revised IRR Rollout

2009-09-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Regional Composite Trainors Team will conduct a series of three-day trainings on the Revised IRR of RA 9184 for BAC members, Secretariat, Technical Working Group and Accountants of LGUs in Region VI starting September 23rd and every week thereafter until October 21st.

Invitation letters have been sent out to target participants. Here's the schedule and groupings of the participants:

- Sept. 23-25 - - - Municipalities, Province of Iloilo
- Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 - - - Provinces and Cities
- Oct. 6-8 - - - - Municipalities, Province of Negros Occ.
- Oct. 14-16 - - - Municipalities, Province of Antique
- Oct. 19-21 - - - Municipalities, Provinces of Aklan, Capiz and Guimaras

Venue of the training is at Punta Villa Resort, Iloilo City. We encourage LGU-participants to send their confirmation to the Training Secretariat c/o Iloilo PBO Office, Provl. Capitol, Iloilo City or to the DBM Regional Office VI.

Revised IRR of RA 9184 takes effect today, Sept. 2

2009-09-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

For the guidance of all government procurement practitioners, the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9184 (GPRA) takes effect today.

The Revised IRR was approved by the GPPB in a formal signing ceremony attended by World Bank representative on July 22nd, but the same was published in the Official Gazette later on August 3rd, and by operation of the law, its effectivity shall be 30 days later or September 2nd, today.

The preparatory Trainors' training sponsored by the GPPB-TSO for the Regional Composite Team Members (RCTM) starts today in Ortigas Center,Pasig Metro Manila. In Revion VI, the roll-out training for LGUs by the RCTM composed of accredited trainors coming from the DBM, DILG, COA and PHILLBO - shall be conducted starting the 3rd week of September.

Trainors' training on Revised IRR set.

2009-08-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

The GPPB has scheduled the trainors' training on the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the GPRA (RA 9184) on September 2-4, 2009. Venue is the Linden Suites, Ortigas, Pasig. Five (5) participants from the Regional Composite Team of each region have been invited to attend.

After the trainors' training, the roll-out of the revised IRR to LGUs throughout the country shall be conducted.

Revised IRR of RA 9184 finally signed

2009-07-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

After several months of waiting, the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) has finally signed on July 22nd, the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulation of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA).

Among those who witnessed the signing ceremony was World Bank Acting Country Director Maryse Gautier. The revised IRR which is contained in GPPB Resolution 03-2009, reduces the documentary requirements on bidder's eligibility; lessens transactions costs for bidders, and provides clearer rules on the scope and application of alternative modes of procurement, thus ensuring transparency and encouraging greater participation from a greater number of bidders.

Among the most notable features of the revised IRR which addresses the common dilemma of procuring entities in resorting to alternative modes of procurement, is to increase the thresholds or the maximum amount of ABC for Shopping and small value procurement.

The revised thresholds are:

1. Shopping during unforeseen contingency per Sec. 52.1(a)- P100,000 for NGAs, GOCCs, GFIs and SUCs. For LGUs, from P50,000 to P100,000 depending on their economic classification;

2. Shopping when the items are not available in the Procurement Service per Sec. 52.1(b) and Small Value Procurement (Negotiated Procurement) per Sec. 53.9 - P500,000 for NGAs, GOCCs, GFIs and SUCs. For LGUs, P50,000 to P500,000 depending on their economic classification.

The rest of the changes in the procurement rules per the revised IRR will be discussed in my next post.

Relevant changes to the IRR of RA 9184 (2nd draft)

2009-06-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation of my post on February 3rd about the proposed changes/amendment to the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9184 or the GPRA.

After the completion of that series of consultation-workshops with procurement practitioners and other stakeholders, the GPPB-TSO came out with the second draft of the IRR and posted the same in the GPPB website for those who would like to download a copy.

Here are the additional changes:

Posting of procurement opportunities: Procuring entities shall also post the bidding documents at its website and at the PhilGEPS website from the time the Invitation to Bid is advertised. Prospective bidders may download the documents from the website and pay the corresponding fees upon submission of their bids.

Alternative Methods of Procurement: Another subsection was added in Section 48, thus: "the method of procurement to be used shall be as indicated in the approved APP. If the original mode of procurement in the APP was public bidding but cannot be ultimately pursued, The BAC through a resolution, shall justify and recommend the change in the mode of procurement to be approved by the Head of the Procuring Entity".

Shopping (Section 52): The maximum amount of goods that can be procured through shopping during unforeseen contingency has been increased from Php 50,000 to Php 100,000. On the other hand, the benchmark for shopping of ordinary or regular office supplies and equipment not available in the Procurement Service, has been increased from Php 250,000 to Php 500,000.

Negotiated Procurement (Section 53): The maximum amount that can be procured through negotiated procurement has been increased from Php 50,000 to Php 500,000. Another type of negotiated procurement is added that is, the procurement from specialized agencies of the United Nations but is limited to small quantities of off-the-shelf goods, primarily in the fields of education the and health; specialized products where the number of suppliers is limited such as vaccines or drugs.

Roll-out Training suspended

2009-04-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

The GPPB has suspended the training on the roll-out of the new Procurement Manual for LGUs until such time that it has approved the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) on RA 9184.

The GPPB expects to finally consider the IRR on or before June, 2009. In the meantime, requests by LGUs for training on procurement may be considered on a case-to-case basis, depending on the urgency.

Relevant changes in the IRR of GPRA

2009-02-03T18:41:00.000-08:00

For the benefit of government procurement practitioners who have not yet downloaded a copy of the draft Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the GPRA (RA 9184), and for those who did not have a chance to get invited to the GPPB-sponsored series of consultation workshops, here are some of the relevant changes to the IRR:

Coverage. The revised IRR now covers both domestically-funded and foreign-funded procurement activities whether wholly or partly. The previous rules (IRR-A) cover only domestically-funded projects. This means there will only be one IRR to cover all types of government procurement regardless of fund sources.

Scope and Application. A statement is included that “the loan negotiating panel of the government of the Philippines shall ensure that all foreign-funded procurement activities shall be through competitive bidding”.

Bid Envelopes. The two (2) envelope system will be implemented. From the previously required three (3) envelopes (Eligibility, Technical and Financial), prospective bidders will now have to submit the Technical and Financial envelopes, but that the eligibility requirements will now form part of the Technical envelope.

Eligibility Documents. The documents are still classified as Class "A" and Class "B". The Class "A" documents will still consist of Legal, Technical and Financial except that the number of documents to be submitted have been reduced from 11 to six (6). These are:

Legal - (a) DTI or SEC or CDA registration certificates whichever is appropriate under existing Philippine laws; (b) valid an current Mayor's permit issued by the city/municipality where the principal place of business of the bidder is located. The other documents required in the previous IRR-A like the TIN, Statement that the bidder is not blacklisted or barred from government bidding, GEPS certificate of registration, BIR Tax clearance, and other appropriate licenses will be submitted by the bidder within 30 calendar days from receipt of the BAC notice that it the lowest calculated responsive bidder. This is required prior to issuance of the Notice of Award.

Technical - Statement of the prospective bidder of all its ongoing and completed government and private contracts within the relevant period as provided in the Instructions to Bidders, including contracts awarded but not yet started, if any; and for Infra projects, a valid Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) license and registration for the type and cost of the contract to be bid.

Financial - (a) The prospective bidder’s audited financial statements, stamped “received” by the BIR; (b) the prospective bidder’s computation for its Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC); and/or a credit line commitment (CLC) from a universal or commercial bank to be extended if awarded the contract to be bid in an amount not lower than that set by the procuring entity in the Bidding Documents, which shall be at least equal to ten percent (10%) of the Approved Budget for the Contract/Estimated Contract Cost to be bid. Please note that the cash deposit certificate which used to be among the financial documents that a bidder can offer is done away with.

Class "B" Documents - There used to be two (2) required documents, namely: Valid Joint Agreement (JVA), and letter authorizing the BAC or authorized representives to verify all documents submitted. The latter is now part of the Technical envelope. If the bidder is a joint venture, it is required to submit a valid Joint Venture Agreement (JVA), or in the absence of a JVA, written statements from all the potential joint venture partners stating that they will enter into and abide by the provisions of the JVA in the instance that the Bid is successful shall be included in the Bid. Failure to enter into a joint venture in the event of a contract award shall be ground for the forfeiture of the bid security. Each member of the joint venture shall submit the legal eligibility documents. Following the principle of collective compliance, the submission of technical and financial eligibility documents by any of the joint venture partners is allowed.

More of these changes on my next post.

IRR-A of GPRA up for revision

2009-02-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

The GPPB has scheduled a series of consultation workshops on the proposed amendments to the Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 9184. Twelve LGUs per region (3 provinces, 4 cities and 4 municipalities) have been invited. Schedule of the consultation is as follows:

February 3-4 in Manila for Regions IV-A, IV-B and NCR
February 5-7 in Baguio City for Regions I, II, III and CAR
February 17-19 in Cebu City for Regions VI, VII, VIII and IX
February 19-21 in Davao City for Regions X, XI, XII and XIII

For Region VI, the LGUs invited to the consultation are: provinces of Capiz, Iloilo and Negros Occidental, cities of Bacolod, Ilolo, Passi and San Carlos; and municipalities of Anilao, and Duenas in Iloilo, Kalibo, Aklan and Tobias Fornier, Antique.

The proposed amendment to the IRR can be downloaded from the GPPB web site.

GPPB'S definition of Exclusive dealership.

2008-09-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

What constitute exclusive dealership for purposes of resorting to Direct Contracting as an alternative mode of procurement?

The GPPB has recently issued a policy clarifying the term "exclusive dealer". It envoked Sec. 50(c) of IRR-A, that an exclusive dealer is one 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.

The GPPB also cited the guidelines prescribed in the Generic Procurement Manual Vol. II, "that procurement unit or office should first study the supply market by conducting an extensive survey of the industry in order to confirm the exclusivity of the source, prior to engaging in Direct Contracting. The GPM also emphasizes that exclusive dealership does not per se give rise to the use of Direct Contracting. The supplier/contractor/manufacturer must prove, through proper documentation, that it is the sole source of said goods, equipment or services required".

Procurement can commence even prior to issuance of SARO.

2008-09-04T00:03:00.000-07:00

We have since received several queries on the issue of whether a procuring national agency will first have to wait for the issuance of Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) before they can commence the procurement process.

The GPPB has issued a clarification through Circular No. 02-2008 dated 1 August 2008 on the matter. The said circular clarifies that "procurement may commence as long as such activity is included in the APP of the procuring entity concerned. Prior issuance of the SARO is not pre-condition to the advertisement and/or posting of the invitation to apply for eligibility and to bid, in the case of public bidding, or posting of the notice of procurement, in the case of alternative methods of procurement." Issuance of the SARO is, however, required before issuance of the notice of award by the procuring entity.

Bidders not required to submit clearances from SSS, DOLE, Pag-ibig, etc. as part of bidding requirements.

2008-04-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

The GPPB has issued on March 7, 2008, Circular Letter No. 01-2008 advising government agencies or procuring entities that Memorandum Circular No. 80 issued on February 10, 1994 which requires the submission of certain documents and incorporation of certain provisions in Security and Janitorial contract awards - was impliedly repealed by R.A. 9184 and its IRR-A.

The circular clarified that as a general policy, imposition of additional eligibility or technical documents is discourage because it increases transaction cost and reduces competition. Thus the additional requirements for bidders to submit clearances from DOLE, SSS, PhilHealth or Pag-IBIG, as part of the eligibility or technical documents should be discouraged. In addition, the submission of a clearance or certificate that the bidder has no pending administrative or labor case is violative of due process and therefore, prohibited.

In lieu of the above mentioned requirements, the procuring entity will simply require the bidder to submit a certification under oath that it complies with existing labor laws and standards as provided for under Section 25.3 of IRR-A. However, during post qualification the procuring entity may verify, validate and ascertain the statement submitted under oath. The procuring entity may also require the submission of subject clearances during contract implementation.

LGU Procurement Manual has been approved by the GPPB.

2008-02-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

The GPPB has passed Resolution No. 30-2007 adopting and approving the Local Government Procurement Manual.

The said manual was made possible by the technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the inputs coming from BAC members, Secretariat and TWGs of selected LGUs throughout the country. Upon its effectivity, this will replace the Generic Procurement Manual (GPM) already in use in so far as LGUs are concerned.

The roll-out of the manual could take place between March or April.

Proposed 3-point amendment on the Procurement law

2008-01-03T23:41:00.000-08:00

A bill was recently filed by Senator Chiz Escudero seeking to amend certain provisions of the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) or R.A. 9184.

Senate Bill No. 1963 seeks to address the weaknesses of the current procurement law particularly along three areas, namely:

- putting under the coverage of RA 9184 the procurement of infrastructure projects, goods and consulting services funded by loan or credit under the Official Development Act, RA No. 8182, as amended;

- strengthen and advance transparency by mandating the posting of decisions of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) relative to criteria, ratings and calculations of bids as well as all other bids, responsive or otherwise, on the procuring agency's website or that of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB). This will bolster and reinforce accountability of public officials by making public how BAC members decide and why.

- lessen the discretion of procuring entities specifically in the consideration of single calculated/rated and responsive bid submissions by subjecting it to the approval of the GPPB; and the use of observers. The current rule on allowing a single calculated/rated and responsive bid submission opens up an avenue of a rig bidding through consensus among bidders in a particular procuring entity. On the hand, the proposed amendment to the attendance of private observers is to limit the number of times they can be invited in the bidding of procuring entities. Observers who are regularly invited in public biddings have a tendency to become friendly and sometimes become cohorts in anomalous biddings.

According to Senator Escudero, the proposed amendments will address the problems and issues resulting from the highly publicized ZTE and Cyber Ed projects.

Honoraria in Government Procurement can now be paid out of savings!

2007-12-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

For BAC, Secretariat and TWGs of Procuring Entities, the DBM has recently issued Budget Circular No. 2007-3 expanding the funding source for payment of honoraria and overtime pay of those involved in government procurement.

The previous issuances, Budget Circular Nos. 2004-5 and 2004-5A, restricted the funding sources of honoraria and overtime pay to income generated from procurement activities such as sale of bid documents, registration fees, protest fees, and forfeiture of bid security. BC 2007-3 added as funding source the savings realized from the current year's budget of national agencies, GOCCs and LGUs. The circular also reiterates that honoraria and overtime pay can only be paid for successfully completed procurement, and that in case of deficiency in collections and non-availability of savings, payment shall be adjusted proportionately.

This is good news to BAC members, Secretariat and TWGs. At least, they can now be compensated for services rendered related to procurement which are more tedious and risky than their regular assignments.

Copy of the BC can be downloaded from the GPPB web site

Training for new procurement officials in LGUs.

2007-10-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

The Regional Composite Team will hold a series of three-day trainings for newly-appointed/constituted Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members, Secretariat and Technical Working Group of LGUs in Region VI on November 6-8 and 13-15, 2007. Venue is at the Punta Villa Resort, Arevalo, Iloilo City.

To enhance the learning experiences of the participants, the Team will adopt the ADB-prescribed training program. In conformity with GPPB policy, the number of participants per school shall be limited to 100 so reservation shall be on a first-come-serve basis. Interested participants can download the confirmation form from the dbmro6 website, and fax the same to the PHILLBO Secretariat at the Iloilo PBO Office, Fax No. 033-3369049, or the DBM Regional Office VI, Fax No. 033-3351235.

Simplified Procurement Manuals for LGUs in the works!

2007-10-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

The GPPB with the technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is coming up with a Simplified Procurement Manuals (SPM) designed for LGUs.

The series of consultation meetings with selected LGUs from the different regions were done from July to September to gather inputs, suggestions and procurement issues inherent to LGUs. Region VI was represented in that consultation by BAC members, Secretariat or TWG of the provinces of Antique, Capiz, Iloilo and Negros Occidental; the cities of Iloilo, Passi and San Carlos; and the municipalities of Ivisan, Capiz, Igbaras, Iloilo and Tobias Fornier, Antique.

With the consultation completed the GPPB will next conduct a validation workshop to be participated by five (5) representatives from each region comprising of the DBM Regional Office and four (4) LGU-participants coming from the group which participated in the regional consultation meeting. This is scheduled on October 10-13, 2007 in Zamboanga City. Two (2) other sessions will be scheduled in the coming weeks after which, the SPM will be finalized. Roll-out of the Manual is January of 2008.

PTG to ensure that govt. contracts are aboveboard!

2007-09-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

In the spite of the latest scandals that has rocked our national experience, specifically, the National Broadband Network (NBN) supposed contract with the Chinese firm, ZTE, the President issued Executive Order No. 662, creating the Procurement Transparency Group (PTG).

The PTG is composed of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Bishops-Businessmen Conference for Human Development, Transparency and Accountability Network, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), and two other NGOs involved in training procurement observers and/or procurement reforms.

As mandated by EO 662, the PTG shall monitor and evaluate all proposed and awarded contracts entered into by all national government agencies (NGAs), government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs), state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local government units (LGUs), amounting to P100 million or more.

The PTG shall recommend remedial actions, improvements in procurement, contract implementation and monitoring processes to ensure compliance with contractual terms and to safeguard government and public interest.

If the contract is found non-compliant, the PTG shall recommend to the PAGC the imposition of sanctions, implementation of remedial measures, and the filing of criminal, civil and/or administrative charges if warranted.

Reforms in DepEd's textbook procurement.

2007-07-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

The Department of Education )DepEd) has reduced to almost half the cost of textbooks following the implementation of procurement reforms.

According Secretary Jesli Lapus, the introduction of International Competitive Bidding (ICB) also helped improve the quality of the paper used for the textbooks. This translates into substantial savings for the government and better textbooks for the public school system. The previous average cost of a textbook was P90, but now it only costs P45.

How does it work? A new process is being done wherein the bidding for the development of manuscript is separated from the printing and delivery. Under this process of procurement, four-level content evaluation in 2005 was adopted.

To further improve the process, in the case of English textbooks, selected titles are being reviewed by the Ateneo de Manila University for elementary textbooks and the University of the Philippines for high school textbooks.

The DepEd's Textbook Procurement Program was recently cited as a best practice by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC), an international forum of donor governments and international multilateral organizations, including the United Nations and the World Bank.

Amendment to the Guidelines on Index-based pricing of Petroleum products

2007-07-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

The GPPB has recently passed Resolution No. 011-2007 amending the Revised Guidelines on procurement of petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL) through index-based pricing.

The original guidelines per GPPB Resolution No. 05-2005 included lubricants as among the POLs that can be procured through index-based pricing. However, the later amendment per GPPB Resolution No. 09-2006, excluded lubricants. Upon the request of the National Power Corporation, the GPPB restored the item lubricants that can be procured through the said scheme hence, the issuance of Resolution No. 011-2007. the said resolution also gives procuring entities the option to use either fixed or index based pricing in the procurement of lubricants as well as to use the Independent Commodity Information System - London Oil Report (ICIS-LOR) index if the procuring entity's cost benefit analysis or assessment indicates that index-based pricing is more favorable in the bulk procurement of lubricants.

Implementing Infra projects by Administration .

2007-07-05T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here's the GPPB's latest guidelines on implementation of projects by administration as contained in Annex "A" of Resolution No. 018-2006 dated December 6, 2006:

Definition - "By Administration" refers to the procedure by which the implementation of an infrastructure project is carried out under the administration and suprevision of the concerned agency (or LGU) thorugh its own personnel.

General Conditions and Requirements - Projects undertaken by administration shall be included in the Annual Procurement Plan (APP). If the original mode of procurement for the said project is public bidding, the BAC shall pass a resolution recommending to the head of the procuring entity the change in procurement mode. The Procuring Entity (PE) shall possess a track record of having completed or supervised a project similar to the one to be implemented with a cost of at least 50% of the project at hand. Further, the PE shall own the tools and construction equipment to be used or have access to such tools and equipment owned by another government agency.

Specific Conditions and Requirements - Projects costing Php 5 M or less may be undertaken by Administration subject to the General Conditions and requirements mentioned above. On the other hand, projects costing over Php 5 M may be undertaken by administration only in the following cases:

a. emergency arising from natural calamities or where immediate action is
necessary to prevent imminent loss of life or property;
b. comply with government commitments;
c. failure to award a contract after competitive bidding for a valid cause;
d. termination or rescission of contract;
e. area with critical peace and order problems as certified by the Local
Peace and Order Council.

Approving Authority - Prior authority shall be obtained from the Secretary of the DPWH for projects costing Php 5 M up to Php 20 M, while projects costing more than Php 20 M shall bear the authority of the President.

Lease of privately owned real estate can be procured thru negotiated procurement.

2007-07-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Another item has been added by the GPPB to the enumeration of the items that can be procured through negotiated procurement under Section 53 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations-A (IRR-A) of RA 9184.

Through Resolution No. 2007-04 dated May 4, 2007, the lease of privately owned real estate for official purpose is now included as one of the instances where a procuring entity can resort to negotiated procurement. Prior to the passage of the said resolution, rental of office space can only be procured through public competitive bidding. But feedbacks from procuring entities revealed that public bidding does not usually result to the most advantageous terms for the government. On the other hand, in resorting to negotiated procurement, agencies are afforded the flexibility to consider factors such as location and building structures as well as providing them control measures to ensure reasonableness of rental rates.

With this resolution, there are now nine (9) instances where negotiated procurement can be applied, namely: failure of bidding for the second time; during state of calamity; take-over of contracts; project that is adjacent or contiguous to an on-going project; purchase of goods from another government agency; hiring of consultants that are highly technical or proprietary, and primarily confidential or policy determining; procurement with prior approval from the President; small value procurement (with ABC of P50,000 and below); and lease of privately owned real estate.

Procurement manual for LGUs in the works.

2007-06-27T23:43:00.000-07:00

The GPPB will hold a consultation with selected LGUs as part of the preparation for the development of a procurement manual for LGUs. The consultation will be held on July 5th at Iloilo Grand Hotel. A total of 40 participants will be invited coming from Region VI and VII. Preferred participants are those coming from 1st class, 4th and 5th class provinces and municipalities including component cities who are either BAC members, BAC Secretariat or TWG. Invitations will be sent out by the respective DBM Regional Offices.

Use of PhilGEPS facility is now mandatory!

2007-06-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

With the passage of Republic Act No. 9401, the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for fiscal year 2007, it now becomes mandatory for national government agencies, GOCCs, GFIs, SUCs, and LGUs, specifically, provinces and cities to use the facilities of the Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS).

Section 86, General Provisions of the 2007 GAA requires these entities to utilize the GEPS through its electronic catalogue for the procurement of common-use supplies, and that all Invitations to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid (IAEB), Notices of Award, and all other other procurement-related notices shall be posted in the Electronic Bulletin Board.

On the other hand, regional offices of national agencies and municipal governments are enjoined to "undertake measures to ensure their on-line access and connectivity to the GEPS and its full use by the end of 2007".

No time table was set on the mandatory use of the GEPS by barangays. To require barangays to utilize the GEPS facilities may be impractical at this time considering that many of these barangays do not have computers, and/or internet connections, or that no barangay personnel has the capability to access or manage their accounts with the GEPS.

GPPB Guidelines on procurement of water and other utilities.

2007-04-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

To address the predicament of many procuring entities on the proper mode of procurement for public utility services, the GPPB has issued Resolution No. 019-2006.

The said Resolution recognizes that the provision of certain public utility services like water, electricity, telecommunications, and internet are vital to the success and continuity of government operations, and that procurement of these services if done through public bidding would not be advantageous. Instead, the GPPB prescribes the following:

Water and Electricity - service providers are granted exclusive franchises to operate within the specific territory therefore, procurement shall be done through direct contracting.

Landline, Cellular Phones and Internet - For existing lines/connections: Contracts entered into with telcos shall be respected. But at the end of each year, an assessment as to the range and quality of services and charges shall be made and if the result of such assessment continues to favor the existing service provider, a renewal of contract can be allowed. If it does not, said services shall be bid out if there is more than one provider, or by direct contracting if there is only one provider. For additional lines, repeat order may be resorted subject to Section 51(c) of the IRR-A.

For new lines or connections - competitive public bidding if there is more than one service provider; if there is only one, direct contracting can be resorted to.

The Resolution while issued on December 6, 2006, shall take effect on April 24, 2007.

GPPB issues guidelines on procurement during election period

2007-03-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

The election fever is heating up and has not only occupied politicians and the electorate but procurement activities as well. Of late, we have received various queries on how to go about the conduct of bidding or other alternative mode of procurement for the duration of the election period.

To help procurement officials, this is what I have gathered from the GPPB website. Resolution No. 01-2007 dated 23 February 2007, but published in the web site only last March 28th, prescribes the guidelines on the conduct of procurement activities from March 30 to May 14, 2007 (the election ban). The Resolution, in effect, reconciles and clarifies COMELEC Resolution No. 7707 (prohibited activities during the election period) with the provisions of RA 9184. In summary:

Reminder: Election ban is not designed to paralyze the operations of the government but to insulate government procurement from political partisan activities, usually in the form of new projects, which are designed to influence the public during the elections.

In general: Procuring entities can go on with the procurement whether public bidding or alternative mode (posting/advertising, pre-bid conference, bid opening, post qualification) but cannot issue the Notice of Award for the duration of the election ban (March 30, 2007 until May 14, 2007. This holds true for procurement of public works, social projects and housing-related projects.

What are allowed: The GPPB Resolution also clarifies that complete procurement activities is allowed for:

- Maintenance work involving maintenance of existing and/or completed public works projects;
- Contract entered into or awarded either through public bidding or negotiated procurement, provided it is reported to the COMELEC;
- Preparatory works like payment of preparation cost for drawings, bill of materials, etc. including purchase of materials and other incidental expenses;
- Calamity involving restoration of damaged facilities;
- Ongoing projects both locally funded and foreign-assisted that has commenced before March 30, 2007, provided this was reported to the COMELEC;
- Routine and normal expenses; and
- Expenses covered by COMELEC exemption

For better understanding, the subject Resolution can be downloaded here.

Regional Procurement Depot soon to open in Iloilo City

2007-03-06T17:03:00.000-08:00

Upon instruction of DBM Secretary Rolando G. Andaya, Jr., preparations are underway to finally establish a regional procurement depot here in Iloilo City.

Assistant Secretary Eduardo Opida, Chairman of the Inter-Agency Bids and Awards Committee (IABAC) together with Procurement Service Executive Director Estanislao Granados came over last week to inspect the would-be office and warehouse of the depot, and also to orient the Regional Inter-Agency Bids and Awards Committee (R-IABAC). The R-IABAC which composed of the regional offices of the DBM (Chair), DTI, BLGF and DILG; and two private sector observers - is tasked to conduct the bidding of locally produced supplies and common used items that will be sold by the depot.

Timetable for the opening of the depot is between April and May. If this materializes, Region VI will be the only region with two (2) procurement depots: the pilot provincial depot in Bacolod City co-managed by the provincial government of Negros Occidental and the PS; and the soon-to-be opened depot here in Iloilo City under the DBM Regional Office VI. Abangan!

Resolving Identical Bid price

2007-03-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

Here's a peculiar issue raised by a participant in one of our trainings: "What should the BAC do if two (2) bidders offered the same bid price?"

The commonly suggested solution is to split the contract equally among the bidders who offered identical bid proposal. Not likely. I did some research on this and luckily stumbled upon an opinion of the GPPB, PM 002-2005 way back in August 2005.

The GPPB suggested the use of drawing of lots similar to the provision of Section 240 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 881 (Omnibus Election Code). It justifies that the situation addressed is "analogous to a case of tie in the bidding process. Applying the foregoing principle in the case of breaking a tie, the use of any non-discretionary/non-discriminatory tie-breaking procedure seems to be an acceptable approach towards resolving such issue, considering that the real intent of R.A. 9184 is to eliminate all forms of discretion in bid evaluation on the part of the BAC, and that every bidder who passed the post-qualification stage is as much a LCRB as the others; hence, equally eligible and qualified".

So procurement officials, be guided.

GPM Roll-out and GPRA Updates sked for March

2007-03-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

With the training of procurement officials of barangays in the province of Iloilo almost done, the Regional Composite Team will next reach out to the barangays in the other provinces of Panay and Guimaras. Schedule of the trainings is as follows:

March 8-9 - Provinces of Capiz and Guimaras (1st batch)
March 15-16 - Province of Capiz (2nd batch)
March 22-23 - Province of Aklan
March 27-28 - Province of Antique (1st batch)
March 29-30 - Province of Antique (2nd batch)

The trainings will be held in Punta Villa except for Antique where the MBO Association has requested to have the CAP Auditorium in San Jose as the venue.

Voluntary suspension of Trainings during Election period.

2007-02-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

The decision of whether to suspend or continue with the conduct of GPRA trainings during the election period is left at the discretion of the Composite Team and SUCs trainors.

In a Memorandum dated 21 February 2007, the Executive Director conveyed to the trainors the policy of the GPPB to "allow the voluntary suspension of trainings during election period, if said trainings will be used as venues for holding of political caucuses, meetings, rallies in support of or against any electoral candidate". The suspension, if the trainors so decide shall cover the period from March 30, 2007 to may 15, 2007. On the other hand, trainors in the region who opt to continue with their scheduled trainings should take additional safeguards in order that they may not be accused of engaging in any form of partisan political activity.

In the region, there are three groups of trainors accredited by the GPPB: the Regional Composite Team composed of DILG, DBM, COA and PHILLBO which caters to LGUs, and WVSU and UP Visayas which are assigned to train NGA and GOCCs procurement officials. As early as October last year, the trainors commenced the series of trainings on the roll-out of the Generic Procurement Manuals and Updates on GPRA Issuances. In as far as the Composite Team is concerned the trainings are scheduled every Thursday and Friday in Punta Villa Resort, Iloilo City.

Procurement of Second-hand vehicles allowed by GPRA.

2007-01-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

The Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) has recently issued an opinion declaring that the procurement of second hand or reconditioned motor vehicle is not prohibited by R.A. No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act(GPRA).

In a letter dated 15 December 2006, GPPB Executive Director Ruby U. Alvarez opined that "procurement of second-hand vehicles is not prohibited by R.A. 9184. It is the procurement of second-hand vehicle through an auction that is prohibited by R.A. 9184." The same opinion is reiterated under GPPB's Non-Policy Matter Opinion No. 33-2006 dated 27 December 2006.

Said opinion further states that procurement of second-hand vehicle must follow the procedures prescribed in the GPRA and its IRR-A.

Procurement Updates for Barangays resumes.

2007-01-18T16:38:00.000-08:00

The Regional Composite Trainors Team will resume the conduct of seminar updates on procurement rules for barangays on the following dates:

January 25-26, 2007
February 8-9, 2007
February 15-16, 2007
February 22-23, 2007

Invited participants are Punong Barangays, Chairmen and Secretariats of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of barangays in the Province of Iloilo. This seminar-updates started in December 2006, and so far only about 250 barangays were covered for a total of 893 trainess. Venue of the seminar is at Punta Villa Resort, Iloilo City.

GPRA Update: Procurement in case of natural or man-made calamity.

2006-12-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

The GPPB has issued on December 6, 2006 Circular Letter No. 03-2006, clarifying the procurement process to be undertaken in case of the occurrence of natural or man-made calamities.

The circular reiterated the provision of Section 54.2(b) of RA 9184 and its IRR-A that the negotiated procurement is the appropriate alternative mode in case of calamity to undertake the necessary procurement to prevent damage to or loss of life or property, or restore vital public services, infra facilities and other public utilities.

What should be done. The procuring entity will simply have to negotiate with a previous supplier, contractor or consultant (depending on the item/project to be negotiated upon) in good standing who is situated within the vicinity where the calamity or emergency occurred. Please take note. The negotiation shall be with a single supplier, contractor or consultant instead of three.

Who are considered supplier, contractor, or consultant in good standing? The circular defines the term in good standing if the concerned supplier, contractor or consultant has not committed any breach of contract like short deliveries, unreasonable delays in delivery of goods or project implementation, delivery or completion of of defective goods or civil works; no negative slippage - in any previous transactions with the procuring entity or any other government entity.

Notwithstanding the simplicity of the procurement process in this case, the procuring entity is still required to post the award of contract in the GEPS, its own website and in its bulletin board.

Professionalizing Public Procurement practitioners.

2006-12-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

The World Bank has extended to the Philippines government a new IDF grant (Institutional Development Fund) of US $ 300 T to support government's effort to establish a career path and certification program for public procurement practitioners.

The grant is given by World Bank in recognition of the Philippines concerted efforts in improving public procurement. It underscored such procurement milestones as the enactment and implementation of the GPRA (RA 9184); formulation of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR-A); establishment and operationalization of the GPPB; mandatory use of Electronic Procurement System; issuance of standard bidding document and forms; and more recently, the roll-out of the Generic Procurement Manuals.

The project to be financed by the grant will consist of two (2) parts: to provide technical assistance to the government in creating the career stream for public procurement practitioners; and support the development and roll-out of a complete public procurement and logistics training modules and certification program.

The project will be implemented by the GPPB and its Technical Support Office.

Reaching out to the Barangays.

2006-12-05T23:05:00.000-08:00

After having completed the roll-out of the Generic Procurement Manuals to provinces, cities and municipalities in Region VI, the Training Team will start reaching out to the barangays. Unlike the previously concluded trainings, the module for the barangays will be a little bit simpler and the duration shortened.

The Team will concentrate on updating the procurement officials of barangays on the latest resolutions and policies issued by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), particularly along alternative modes of procurement, small value procurement, and procurement by administration and pakyaw system.

As we have done in the past, trainings for barangays are carried out by batches, considering that there are 4,046 of them in the region. The first 3 batches are scheduled on December 12-13; 14-15; and 19-20. These will cover only the barangays in the city and some from the province of Iloilo. The subsequent seminars will be held starting January 2007.

Mission accomplished!

2006-11-24T17:33:00.000-08:00

This took too long to post but as the saying goes, "Better late than never". The Team has completed the last batch of the training on the roll-out of the Generic Procurement Manuals. We arranged with Punta Villa a single venue as the confirmed participants were just a little over 150 but the actual registrants (most of them came later) turned out to be 230 plus. So we had to to split the participants into two groups with those coming from Antique in one group, and the other from Negros Occidental and the local water districts.

What made this last batch special was the presence of two personnel from the GPPB Tecnical Support Office who came to observe and distributed survey questionnaires about how we conduct the training. I'll make a summary of the participant's impression in a separate post later.

With the provinces, cities and municipalities and some local water districts done, we are setting our sight next on the barangays whom we feel equally need the training. We have already sent out the invitations to barangays in Iloilo City and those in Province of Iloilo. Target date is December 12-13 and 14-15.

One down, one more to go!

2006-11-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

We've just concluded the third batch of our series of trainings on the Roll-out of the Generic Procurement Manuals. Venue was at Punta Villa. The turn out of participants was overwhelming - around 285 of them coming from the municipalities in the Provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo, the City of Victorias and also from the different Local Water Districts. We had to divide the participants into two groups and the trainors, the six of us namely: Atty. Panes of DILG, Jun Cabahug and Daisylyn Tavarro of COA, Tony Arbis, PBO of Capiz, and Mae Chua and myself from DBM - took turns discussing our assigned topics and even arguing with the eager participants.

The training went on seamlessly, thanks to our hardworking, competent facilitators, Vir Abonador (MBO of Duenas) and Annie Bedonia (MBO of Anilao), as well as our ever pleasing secretariat from the Iloilo Provincial Budget Office headed by PBO Elen Lim and her assistant Daday Depakakibo.

The last batch scheduled on November 14-16 promises to be a special one as two staff from the GPPB will be coming over to observe how we conduct the training. With participants coming from the municipalities of Antique and Negros Occidental and the rest of the water districts in the region, we look forward to an equally bigger turn out and interaction as the recently concluded one. I'll give a brief rundown on this right after the training.

Fast tracking GPRA implementation . . .

2006-11-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

With the issuance by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) of the Generic Procurement Manuals (GPM) and the expected completion of the trainings by year-end, we expect a smooth sailing roll-out of the GPM.

Yet another major development that will ensure the effective implementation of the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) - that is, to make procurement rules more responsive and realistic to the situations obtaining in the different government procurement levels - was the issuance by the Office of the President of a Memorandum dated 23 August 2006, "Authorizing the GPPB to Promulgate Rules and Regulations in Carrying out the Provisions of RA 9184", without need of Presidential approval.

It seems the Memorandum has already bore positive fruit with the issuance by the GPPB of three resolutions:

* Resolution No. 04-2006 - added another type of Negotiated Procurement (Item h,
Section 53 of IRR-A where the ABC is P50,000 and below;

* Resolution No. 07-2000 - substituting the eligibility requirement of prospective
bidder on the "single completed similar contract with value of at least 50% of
the ABC, subject to certain conditions; and

* Resolution No. 14-2006 - shortening the period of the different prescribed steps
in the bidding process, among them the advertisement/posting for only seven
calendar days from original period of 14 calendar days

Said resolutions can be downloaded from the GPPB website. We expect that more Amendments or refinements to the procurement rules will be issued in the future.

Last 2 batches of GPM Trainings starts Nov. 7th

2006-11-05T21:37:00.000-08:00

The Regional Composite Tainors' Team (RCTT) will hold the remaining two batches of trainings on the roll-out of the Generic Procurement Manuals on November 7-9; and 14-16. Venue is at Punta Villa Resort, Iloilo City.

While originally intended for procurement officials (BAC members, Secretariat and TWGs) of LGUs, the Team decided to invite those from Local Water Districts in view of numerous requests from the latter to attend the training as well.

Training modules and program can be downloaded from the DBM Regional Office web site.

Welcome Note!

2006-11-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

This Blog is designed for government public procurement practitioners in the Philippines.