Government Procurement Quiz

Procurement Management

• Procurement refers to acquiring goods, consulting services, and contracting for infrastructure projects by a procuring entity, including leasing of goods and real estate. (Sec. 5(aa), RIRR, R.A. 9184).
• It's a process of sourcing and purchasing goods and services from external sources (suppliers/contractors).

Legal Basis of Procurement

• 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184 – Government Procurement Reform Act).
• Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB).
• Non-Policy Matter (NPM) Opinions and Resolutions.
• Department Orders (DPWH Procurement Manual (DPM) (DO 151, S.2016)).

Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)

• BAC Structure: Each procuring entity establishes a single BAC in its head office to facilitate professionalization, harmonization, procedures, and standards (Sec 11, 11.1.1 of 2016 RIRR of RA9184).
• BAC Composition: The BAC must have at least 5 but not more than 7 members of unquestionable integrity and procurement proficiency.
  • Regular Members: At least 3rd ranking permanent employees with experience/expertise in procurement.
  • Provisional Members: Representatives from the end-user or implementing unit with technical expertise.

Functions of the BAC

• Advertise and/or post the invitation to bid/request for expressions of interest.
• Conduct Pre-procurement and Pre-Bid Conferences.
• Determine the eligibility of prospective bidders.
• Receive and open bids.
• Conduct evaluation of bids.
• Undertake post-qualification proceedings.
• Resolve requests for reconsideration.
• Recommend award of contracts to the HOPE or authorized representative.
• Recommend the imposition of sanctions.
• Recommend use of Alternative Methods of Procurement.
• Conduct periodic assessment of procurement processes to streamline activities.
• Perform related functions, including creating a Technical Working Group.

Procurement Process – Civil Works (Infrastructure)

• Pre-procurement Conference
• Advertisement/Invitation to Bid
• Issuance of Bidding Documents
• Pre-bid Conference
• Supplemental Bid Bulletin
• Submission/Receipt/Opening of Bids
• Eligibility Check
• Bid Evaluation
• Post-qualification

Pre-Procurement Conference

• Prior to advertisement/invitation to bid/request for expression of interest
• Confirming the description/scope of contract, the ABC, and the contract duration
• Ensuring that the procurement aligns with the project and annual procurement plans
• Determining the readiness of the procurement, including availability of appropriations, completeness of bidding documents, adherence to general procurement guidelines, completion of detailed engineering for infrastructure projects, and confirmation of right-of-way (ROW) and affected property ownership.
• Review/modify/agree on criteria for eligibility screening, evaluation, and post-qualification
• Review/adopt the procurement schedule, including deadlines and timeframes for activities
• Reiterate/emphasize the importance of confidentiality/compliance with regulations and sanctions, agreeing on measures to ensure compliance

Advertisement/Invitation to Bid (IB)

• Notice to the public/interested parties of procurement/bidding opportunities at the department.
• Ensures transparency, widest possible dissemination, and intensified competition for the project.
• Postings occur on the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) website, the Procuring Entity's Website (DPWH Website), and in conspicuous public places.

Issuance of Bidding Documents

• Documents are made available from advertisement date to bid submission deadline.
• BAC provides documents to observers free of charge.
• Fee structure based on the ABC (Approved Budget for the Contract).

Pre-Bid Conference

• Initial forum where department representatives and prospective bidders discuss procurement aspects.
• Discusses legal, technical, and financial contract components.
• Opportunity to clarify bid document uncertainties.
• Failure to hold a pre-bid conference for projects with ABC 1M+ renders void the procurement.

When to conduct a pre-bid conference?

• Mandatory for ABC (Approved Budget for the Contract) ₱1,000,000 or more
• Discretionary for ABC less than ₱1,000,000, but should be 12 calendar days before the bid submission deadline.
• Conference statements must be included in the supplemental/bid bulletin

Supplemental/Bid Bulletin

• Allow for clarification/modification of bidding documents (including ITT)
• Issued at BAC's initiative
• Posted on PhilGEPS and procuring entity's website

Submission/Receipt/Opening of Bids

• Bidders submit through authorized representatives using the specified forms and envelopes (technical and financial)
• Submission/receipt/opening of bids occurs on or before the scheduled date
• Bidders no longer required to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) with their applications for eligibility.

Eligibility

• Procedure to determine if prospective bidders are eligible to participate in the bidding.
• BAC uses non-discretionary criteria (as stated in the Invitation to Bid (ITB)) to assess eligibility.
• Absence/incompleteness/insufficiency of required documents renders the bidder ineligible.

Bid as Read

• Lowest bid “as read” during opening doesn't automatically guarantee the Lowest Calculated Bid (LCB)
• Detailed bid evaluation confirms the LCB.

Bid Evaluation

• Main purpose is to determine the Lowest Calculated Bid (LCB).
• The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) serves as the ceiling for acceptable bid prices; bids exceeding this are automatically disqualified.
• Evaluation includes completeness, arithmetical corrections, and prices inclusive of taxes.
• Bids are ranked based on total calculated bid prices (after evaluating computational errors and corrections), with bids exceeding the ABC disqualified.
• No contact rule between the BAC and bidders during the evaluation stage.

Detailed Bid Evaluation

• No contact rule between BAC and bidders; writing-only clarifications permitted from the BAC.
• Determine Lowest Calculated Bid (LCB) by: establishing the correctness of calculated bids, ranking bids from lowest to highest.

Post-Qualification

• Verifies bidder's compliance with legal, financial, and technical requirements for the lowest calculated bid (LCB).
• Within five (5) calendar days of notification, bidders provide valid business tax returns and appropriate licenses/permits.
• Failure to submit or issues with any aspect of verification may lead to disqualification, forfeiture of bid security

Post-Qualification (cont'd)

• Legal Requirements, licenses, certificates, permits, agreements submitted by the bidder, and whether the bidder is on any "blacklist".
• The GPPB should always maintain a consolidated file of blacklisted suppliers, contractors, and consultants.

Post-Qualification (cont'd) - Technical Requirements

• Bidder's competence/experience, competence/experience of key personnel.
• Operating conditions of equipment (leased/owned).
• Contracts' performance (negative slips).
• Repair commencement/completion.

Post-Qualification (cont'd) - Technical Requirements (cont'd)

• Performance of bidder in ongoing (government and private) contracts.
• Negative slippage of 15% in one or 10% in multiple ongoing contracts.
• Failure to commence repair works within 7 days or complete within 30 days.

Post-Qualification (cont'd) - Technical Requirements (cont.)

• Other forms of substandard quality or unsatisfactory performance.
• Verification/inspection/testing, potentially including delays (10% of contract price or more).
• Unsatisfactory contract performance; deficiencies due to bidder fault/negligence will result in bidder disqualification.

Post-Qualification (cont'd) - Financial Requirements

• Verify, validate, and ascertain bid price proposal of the bidder, including any required Line of Credit (LOC).
• Ensure that the bidder sustain the operating cash flow of the transaction.