There are various ways to procure government projects, such as but not limited to, competitive bidding, limited source bidding, direct contracting, and competitive dialogue. Since competitive bidding is the most common process for the procurement of government projects, I outline below the different stages on competitive bidding, particularly for infrastructure projects pursuant to the New Government Procurement Act:

1. Publication. With the advances in technology, all invitations to bid and the corresponding bid document shall be published in the:

a. Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (“PhilGEPS”);

b. In any conspicuous place in the premises of the Procuring Entity (“Procuring Entity”); and

c. On the website or social media platforms of the Procuring Entity.

Therefore, any person from any place can easily access the bid document for a particular project and review the same without having to physically be in the Philippines.

2. Pre-bid conference. A pre-bid conference shall be held to entertain any clarifications from prospective bidders. In the event the prospective bidder cannot attend the pre-bid conference in person, it can still send its queries through the email address provided by the Procuring Entity in the bid document.

3. Eligibility screening of prospective bidders. To ensure that the bidder is technically, legally, and financially capable of undertaking the proposed project, it shall be required to submit its updated PhilGEPS Certificate of Registration and Membership.

4. Receipt and opening of bids. Prospective bidders shall submit the financial and technical components of its bids to the Procuring Entity’s bids and awards committee (“BAC”). All bids shall be accompanied by a bid security, which shall serve as a guarantee that, after receipt of the notice of award (Notice of Award), the winning bidder shall enter into contract with the Procuring Entity within the stipulated time and furnish the required performance security, as specified in the bidding document.

During this stage, bidders may still modify or withdraw their bid provided they communicate their intention to the Procuring Entity before the deadline for receipt of bids.

The BAC shall publicly open all bids at the time, date, and place specified in the bidding document.

5. Evaluation of bids. The BAC shall first examine the technical components of the bids using a “pass/fail” criteria to determine whether all required documents are present. Only bids that are determined to contain all the bid requirements of the technical component shall be considered for opening and evaluation of their financial component. The BAC shall evaluate the financial component of the bids based on either of the two parameters: 1) the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid or 2) the Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid.

6. Post-qualification. The first place bidder, as recommended by the BAC, undergoes verification and validation to determine whether it has passed all the requirements and conditions as specified in the bidding document. However, if the first place bidder fails to meet any of the requirements or conditions, it shall be post-disqualified and the BAC shall conduct the post-qualification on the second place bidder.

7. Award of Contract. The head of the Procuring Entity (HoPE) shall approve or disapprove the qualified bidder, as recommended by the BAC. In case of approval, the HoPE shall immediately issue the Notice of Award to the bidder.

The winning bidder shall formally enter into a contract with the Procuring Entity within 10 calendar days from the receipt of the Notice of Award.

From the foregoing, the process for competitive bidding is simple, but it does not compromise its stringent review process to ensure that the winning bidder is capable of constructing the infrastructure project.

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