5-Terms-of-Reference_INP-2020-05-0076.pdf

TERMS OF REFERENCE Consulting Services for PCC Market Study on Philippine Construction Industry I. RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is an in...

TERMS OF REFERENCE Consulting Services for PCC Market Study on Philippine Construction Industry I. RATIONALE AND BACKGROUND The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is an independent quasi-judicial body mandated to implement Republic Act 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act (PCA). The PCA prohibits anti- competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position and anti-competitive mergers and acquisitions, as the law aims to enhance market competition for the benefit of consumers and businesses. As stated in the National Competition Policy chapter of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, the government has committed resources for the conduct of studies in priority sectors where the largest impact on consumer welfare and market efficiency are expected. For 2020, the Commission has identified construction industry (“subject sector”) as one of its priority sectors. The construction industry in the Philippines plays an important role in economic development, providing services for households and in building infrastructure vital for the functioning of other industries including transportation, power, electricity, water, housing, and information and communications technology, among others. Through its linkages with other industries, the construction sector generates significant economic activity, both as provider of production inputs and a consumer of services and products from other sectors.1 The PCC requires the expertise and experience of a contractor in the subject sector to complete the market study. II. OBJECTIVES Resources for this project shall be directed for the completion of a market study on the competitive landscape of the subject sector in the Philippines. Specifically, the study shall: 1. Provide an overview of the subject sector, including description of market structure and major industry participants; 2. Provide an overview of current industry trends and developments, emerging technologies and/or changes in supply and demand dynamics; 3. Identify structural issues that potentially limit market competition (in terms of concentration, vertical intergration); 4. Identify common industry practices or concerted practices which may substantially lessen competition (exclusive dealing arrangement, bundling of service); 5. Identify policies and regulations that may affect firm entry and expansion and assess the role of state owned enterprises involved in the subject sector; 6. Conduct behavioral or structural screening exercise to determine whether conditions in the industry are conducive to the formation and stability of a cartel or whether dominant firms 1 Lifted from PCC Policy Note No. 1 Series of 2017  or group of firms potentially abuse their market power; 7. Estimate welfare impacts in addressing competition concerns in the industry; and 8. Propose possible recommendations to address anti-competitive elements in the market. III. SCOPE OF WORK The contractor shall: 1) Submit an inception report, including a detailed work and financial plan in consultation with PCC; 2) Present the study’s framework and methodology in a PCC round-table discussion; 3) Assign tasks to, monitor, and review work of a research assistant assigned to the project; 4) Work closely with the designated PCC economist/s to cascade the research methodology used in the market study; 5) Conduct data gathering activities such as focus group discussions2 (FGDs), key informant interviews3 (KIIs), or surveys4 with relevant stakeholders and resource persons – as necessary – to gather information needed for the study; 6) Present the preliminary results in a research seminar. At the discretion of PCC, industry regulators and other stakeholders may be invited; 7) Draft and finalize the research report; 8) Present the findings in a public consultation; and 9) Draft a policy brief with the assistance of PCC economist/s as a by-product of the market study. IV. SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE PCC The following are the services to be rendered by the PCC: 1. Provide the contractor a directive to facilitate the completion of the market study; 2. Constantly coordinate with the contractor on the planning and implementation of the market study; and 3. Pay the contractor’s project cost inclusive of mandatory taxes and in accordance with the set payment schedule. The contractor shall be engaged by the PCC and shall submit outputs directly to the designated project manager within PCC for review and endorsement for payment. V. APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACTAND MODE OF PROCUREMENT The Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) is Two Million and Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP 2,500,000.00), inclusive of all applicable government taxes, and shall include all remunerations, cost or profits arising from or in relation to the services rendered in connection with and/or in preparation for this engagement, such as data purchases, focus group discussions, small group seminar presentations, and other meetings. The mode of procurement shall be Negotiated Procurement – Two-Failed Biddings, as provided under the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9184. 2 Both genders must be represented in the conduct of FGDs. 3 Both genders must be represented in the conduct of KIIs. 4 This must include gender questions to capture differences in responses. 2  VI. TIMELINES, DELIVERABLES AND SCHEDULE OF PAYMENT The contractor shall be engaged for ten (10) months upon the receipt of Notice to Proceed. Reports and other relevant documents are to be submitted to and should be duly received by the PCC project manager. Below is the summary of the deadline of submissions for each deliverable: % of MILESTONES DELIVERABLES contract amount Original signed inception report with detailed financial and work plan properly dated and duly accepted and approved by the PCC; and proof of presentation of study framework Approved and accepted (e.g. ppt slides) 15% Inception Report Submission date: Within thirty (30) days from the receipt of Notice to Proceed Original signed progress report properly dated and duly accepted and approved by the PCC Approved and accepted 25% Progress Report Submission date: Within sixty (60) days from the acceptance of Inception Report Original signed draft report properly dated and duly accepted and approved by the PCC; and proof of Approved and accepted presentation of preliminary results in a research seminar Draft Report and (e.g. ppt slides) 30% Preliminary Findings Submission date: Within ninety (90) days from the acceptance of Progress Report Original signed final report and policy brief properly dated and duly accepted and approved by the PCC; certification of the turn-over of data and do-files properly dated and duly Approved and accepted accepted and approved by the PCC; and proof of Final Report presentation of findings in a public consultation (e.g. ppt 30% slides) Submission date: Within one hundred-twenty days (120) from the acceptance of Draft Report and Preliminary Findings Completion of engagement within ten months from the TOTAL 100% issuance of the Notice to Proceed All printed documents to be submitted to the PCC should be properly and duly signed by the Project Manager or the highest officer/personnel in-charge of the project. All payments shall be endorsed by the Director of the Economics Office supported by the original signed statement of account or billing statement, the issuance of a Certificate of Satisfactory Service Rendered for the deliverables for each tranche payment, and each tranche payment to the service provider shall be released upon PCC’s review and acceptance of the deliverables above, and completeness of all necessary documents required for the processing of payment. 3 The detailed description of the deliverables are as follows: a. Inception Report – This report shall include a detailed work and financial plan. The inception report will be important in ensuring a clear understanding of project management and engagement processes. This will be useful in clarifying and removing any uncertainties that might exist before the project commences, and establishing expectations regarding methodologies, deliverables, outcomes, and potential challenges. This will ensure a mutual understanding of the objectives, scope, and other requirements of the project. In this report, the Contractor is expected to identify the needed data, discuss the design and approach, including the proposed methodology for the project. After the acceptance of the inception report, the Contractor shall present the general framework of the study to the PCC in a roundtable discussion. b. Progress Report – This report shall include a brief write-up on the progress of the Project. At this stage, the Contractor is expected to start data collection, KIIs, and FGDs. The Contractor shall also provide a general information of the industry. c. Draft Report with Preliminary Findings - This report shall include an assessment of the preliminary findings gathered from the Project. This report will be presented in a research seminar. Moreover, the Contractor should be able to present a structural screening exercise to determine whether conditions in the market are conducive to the formation and stability of a cartel. At the discretion of PCC, industry regulators and other relevant stakeholders may be invited to elicit their inputs and views. d. Final Report – This report shall reflect the suggested inputs and revisions that have been adopted by PCC from earlier presentations and discussions of the draft Report. The findings covered by the Final report will be disseminated and presented in a public consultation. This shall also include a policy brief, which shall serve as a by-product of the project. VII. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SERVICE PROVIDER AND ITS PERSONNEL The service provider should meet all the requirements set by the Government Procurement Reform Act (R.A. No. 9184) to be eligible to participate in the procurement. The bidding is open to individual consultants and firms who are legally registered in PhilGEPS and has secured a BIR Tax Certificate and/or Clearance, and/or duly registered with DTI/SEC/CDA. A. Eligibility of the prospective bidder/s To determine if the prospective bidder is eligible to participate in this bidding, legal, technical, and financial documents shall be submitted, as stated in the Invitation to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid (IAEB) and the Instructions to Bidders (ITB), and required documents pursuant to Sections 24.1 and 24.3 of the revised IRR of RA No. 9184. B. Shortlisting of eligible bidders For eligibility and shortlisting purposes, the firm must submit the legal, technical and financial documents under Section 24 of the IRR of the RA 9184 (“Government Procurement Reform Act”). For individual consultants not registered under a sole proprietorship, a BIR Certificate of Registration shall be submitted, in lieu of DTI registration and Mayor’s/Business permit. 4 Only eligible bidders will be considered for shortlisting. Pursuant to Section 24.5.3 of the revised IRR of RA 9184, the following criteria shall be considered in short listing the eligible prospective bidders: Weight Criteria Minimum Qualifications Bases (%) The constractor should have been in business/consultancy/research for at least eight (8) years (In case of an individual consultant or team of consultants), with at least (10) years (a) DTI or SEC registration of total experience as researcher, of submitted indicating the year of which at least five (5) years is related registration and/or other relevant to construction or infrastructure documents; (b) list of completed research of the Project and on-going contracts*; (c) Manager/Principal Investigator) copies of Certificates of Experience Satisfactory Service Rendered / and Capability 40% Engaged with at least three (3) Certificates of Completion of the bidder different companies/institutions (at least one of which should be with a *If individual bidder, signed government agency/institution) curriculum vitae submitted relative to relevant work Engaged with at least one (1) experience, projects/researches institution belonging to the led, and trainings attended public/government sector in similar or relevant nature of work as mentioned above Original signed curriculum vitae submitted indicating relevant work experience and educational background, publication track record, and trainings attended The lead consultant should have: supported by certificates of PhD in Economics, Public Policy, or attendance / participation a related field Quality of Extensive knowledge on the personnel to Philippine construction industry, Note: Pursuant to Section 33.3 of be assigned to with at least (8) years of total the revised IRR, there should be the project experience as researcher, of which no replacement of key personnel (Project at least five (5) years is related to before the awarding of the 40% Manager/Princ construction or infrastructure contract, except for justifiable ipal industry research reason, such as illness, death, or Investigator/ Proven publication track record with resignation provided it is duly Lead at least three (3) publications (e.g., supported by relevant certificates, Consultant) books, journal articles, discussion or any delay caused by the papers, working papers) procuring entity. Once the Ability and willingness to mentor contract has been awarded, no replacement shall be allowed until after fifty percent (50%) of the personnel’s man-months have been served, except for justifiable reasons, subject to appropriate sanctions as prescribed in the 5  Weight Criteria Minimum Qualifications Bases (%) Philippine Bidding Documents (PBD). Originally signed records of on- going (including awarded but not yet started contracts) and previous engagements At most 5 ongoing projects Overall work (including awarded but not yet started Note: Contract/s that will 20% commitment contracts) terminate on or before 90 calendar days, from the deadline of submission of eligibility documents for this project, shall not be considered as ‘ongoing’. TOTAL 100% The top three bidders with at least 80 percent overall score on the above-mentioned criteria will be shortlisted. C. Evaluation of the Technical Proposals of the Shortlisted Bidder The technical and financial proposals of the shortlisted bidders will be evaluated using the Quality-Based Evaluation (QBE) pursuant to the pertinent provisions of R.A. No. 9184. Criteria Bases Weight (%) Quality of personnel to be assigned to As specified in the qualifications above, and the 30% the project submission of a duly notarized Omnibus Sworn Experience and capability of the Statement using the prescribed format of R.A. No. 20% service provider 9184 Timelines, clarity, feasibility, innovativeness and Plan of approach and methodology comprehensives of the written proposal and the overall 50% quality of proposed work TOTAL 100% The bidder with the highest rated scored based on the technical proposal submitted, provided that the score shall pass the hurdle rate of 80 percent based on the technical evaluation component, shall be the Highest Rated Bidder. IX. CONFIDENTIALITY OF DATA AND INFORMATION The contractor shall be engaged by the PCC and shall submit outputs directly to the designated project manager within PCC for review and endorsement for payment. The contractor shall not use nor disseminate these documents for their own research purposes without the written consent of the PCC. All the materials, data, and information used and generated through the survey shall be under the sole ownership of PCC. The contractor shall, at all times, keep the confidentiality of such materials, data, and information, and shall not use nor disseminate these materials, data, and information for their own research purposes without the written consent of the PCC. XI. CONFLICT OF INTEREST The Contractor must be independent from the entities which operate in the business of the particular sector covered by the scope of this engagement and must have no conflict of interest. There is conflict of interest when the Contractor has an interest in the business of the 6 entities operating, whether directly or indirectly, in the particular sector covered by this engagement, and the interest of the Contractor, or his/her rights or duties therein, may be opposed to or affected by the performance of his/her duty. XII. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES If the contractor fails to deliver any or all of the goods and/or to perform the services within the period specified in this contract, the Procuring Entity shall, without prejudice to its other remedies under this contract and under the applicable law, deduct from the contract price as liquidated damages, the applicable rate of one-tenth (1/10) of one percent (1%) of the cost of unperformed portion of every day of delay. The maximum deduction shall be ten percent (10%) of the amount of the contract. Once the maximum is reached, the procuring entity reserves the right to rescind the contract, without prejudice to other courses of action and remedies open to it. XIII. DISPUTE RESOLUTION Should any dispute related to the Contract and/or rights of the parties arise, the same shall be submitted to mutual consultation, mediation and arbitration, in the order of application. The venue of the proceedings shall be in Quezon City. In case of a court suit, the venue shall be the courts of competent jurisdiction in Quezon City, to the exclusion of all other courts. Any amendment or additional terms and conditions to the Contract must be in writing, signed and acknowledged by the Parties. Approved by: __________________________ BENJAMIN E. RADOC, JR. Director IV, Economics Office Philippine Competition Commission CONFORME: ________________________________________________________ Name of Contractor _________________________________________________________ Signature of Contractor / Authorized Representative __________________________________________________________ Designation __________________________________________________________ Date 7  Annex A. Detailed Rating Criteria for Shortlisting Eligible Prospective Bidder/s CRITERIA PARAMETERS RATING SYSTEMS RATING Applicable Years in Business/ 100 With at least ten (10) years in experience and Consultancy/Research business/consultancy/research (in case capability of the (50%) of a firm) OR at least 10 years of total bidder experience as researcher, of which at least 7 years in construction or (40%) infrastructure sector research (of the Project Manager/Principal Investigator, in case of an individual) 80 With at least eight (8) years in business/consultancy/research (in case of a firm) OR at least 8 years of total experience as researcher, of which at least 5 years in construction or infrastructure sector research (of the Project Manager/Principal Investigator, in case of an individual) 0 With less than eight (8) years in business/consultancy/research (in case of a firm) OR less than 8 years of total experience as researcher or less than 5 years in construction or infrastructure sector research (of the Project Manager/Principal Investigator, in case of an individual) Engagement with 100 With at least five (5) companies/institutions companies/institutions (25%) 80 With at least three (3) companies/institutions 0 With less than three (3) companies/institutions or at least one project not rated as “Above Satisfactory” Engagement with 100 With at least two (2) government government agencies agencies/institutions (25%) 80 With at least one (1) government agency/institution 0 No engagement with government agency/institution or at least one project not rated as “Above Satisfactory” Qualification of Educational Attainment 100 PhD in Economics, Public Policy or personnel who (40%) related field may be assigned 0 Holder of a degree lower than PhD in to the project Ecnomis, Public Policy; or PhD holder (Project in not related field Manager/ Work Experience (30%) 100 At least 10 years of total experience as Principal researcher, of which at least 7 years in Investigator/Lead construction or infrastructure sector Consultant) research 80 At least 8 years of total experience as (40%) researcher, of which at least 5 years is in construction or infrastructure sector research 8 CRITERIA PARAMETERS RATING SYSTEMS RATING 0 Less than 8 years of total experience as researcher or less than 5 years is in construction or infrastructure sector research Proven Publication Track 100 With at least five (5) publications (e.g. Record (30%) books, journal articles, discussion papers, working papers) 80 With at least three (3) publications (e.g. books, journal articles, discussion papers, working papers) 0 With less than three (3) publication/s (e.g. books, journal articles, discussion papers, working papers) Current Number of on-going 100 With 0-2 number of on-going projects workload projects (including 80 With 3-5 on-going projects relative to awarded but not yet 0 With more than 5 on-going projects capacity started contracts) (20%) (100%) 9 Annex B. Detailed Rating Criteria for Bid Evaluation of Shortlisted Bidders CRITERIA PARAMETERS RATING SYSTEMS RATING Quality of Educational PhD in Economics, Public Policy or related the Attainment (40%) 100 field personnel to be assigned Holder of a degree lower than PhD in to the 0 Ecnomis, Public Policy; or PhD holder in project not related field (Project Work Experience At least 10 years of total experience as Manager/ (30%) researcher, of which at least 7 years in Principal 100 construction or infrastructure sector Investigator) research (30%) At least 8 years of total experience as researcher, of which at least 5 years is in 80 construction or infrastructure sector research Less than 8 years of total experience as researcher or less than 5 years is in 0 construction or infrastructure sector research Proven Publication With at least 5 publications (e.g. books, Track Record (30%) 100 journal articles, discussion papers, working papers) With at least 3 publications (e.g. books, 80 journal articles, discussion papers, working papers) 0 With less than3 publications Experience Years in Business/ With at least 10 years in and Consultancy/Research business/consultancy/research (in case of a capability of (50%) firm) OR at least 10 years of total bidder experience as researcher, of which at least 100 (20%) 7 years in construction or infrastructure sector research (of the Project Manager/Principal Investigator, in case of an individual) With at least 8 years in business/consultancy/research (in case of a firm) OR at least 8 years of total experience 80 as researcher, of which at least 5 years in construction or infrastructure sector research (of the Project Manager/Principal Investigator, in case of an individual) With less than 8 years in business/consultancy/research (in case of a firm) OR less than 8 years of total experience as researcher and less than 5 0 years in construction or infrastructure sector research (of the Project Manager/Principal Investigator, in case of an individual) Engagement with 100 With at least 5 companies/institutions companies/institutions 80 With at least 3 companies/institutions (25%) 0 Less than 3 company/institution Engagement with With at least 2 government 100 government agencies agencies/institutions (25%) With at least 1 government 80 agency/institution 10 CRITERIA PARAMETERS RATING SYSTEMS RATING No engagement with government 0 agency/institution Plan of Comprehensiveness Outstanding approach of plan and approach Characteristics under “ outstanding” are and (70%) present with additional methodology activities/recommendations that add value (50%) to the project. Important issues are approached in an innovative and efficient way, indicating that the offeror have 100 understood the main issues of the assignment and have outstanding knowledge of new solutions. The proposal details ways to improve the results and the quality of the assignment by using various approaches, methodologies, and knowledge. Very Satisfactory The proposed approach is discussed in full detail, and the methodology is specifically 90 tailored to the characteristics of the assignment and flexible enough to allow its adaptation to changes that may occur during project execution. Satisfactory The steps to carry out the different activities of the TOR is discussed generically. The approach is standard and 80 not specifically tailored to the assignment. Although the approach and methodology are suitable, they don’t include a discussion on how the offeror proposes to deal with critical characteristics of the assignment. Unsatisfactory The approach and methodology are not 0 acceptable for this project and not compliant with the specifications stated in the TOR. Timetable of Very Good Deliverables (30%) The deliverables are for submission at least 100 two to four days before the required timeline and schedule set by the PCC. Good 80 The deliverables are for submission on the day of the schedule set by the PCC Poor 0 The proposal indicates late submission of the required deliverables 11