Approving the Issuance of a Circular Prescribing a Period for the Conduct of Re-Bidding and Negotiated Procurement under Two Failed Biddings Modality

December 20, 2016

GPPB RESOLUTION NO. 30-16

APPROVING THE ISSUANCE OF A CIRCULAR PRESCRIBING A PERIOD FOR THE CONDUCT OF RE-BIDDING AND NEGOTIATED PROCUREMENT UNDER TWO FAILED BIDDINGS MODALITY

WHEREAS, Republic Act (RA) No. 9184 entitled "An Act Providing for the Modernization, Standardization and Regulation of the Procurement Activities of the Government and for Other Purposes," took effect on 26 January 2003, while its 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) took effect on 28 October 2016;

WHEREAS, Section 63 of RA 9184 and its 2016 Revised IRR authorizes the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) to formulate public procurement policies, rules and regulations, and amend, whenever necessary, its IRR;

WHEREAS, Section 35 of RA 9184 and its 2016 Revised IRR provides that "[t]he BAC shall declare the bidding a failure when:

a) No bids are received;

b) All prospective bidders are declared ineligible;

c) All bids fail to comply with all the bid requirements or fail post-qualification, or, in the case of Consulting Services, there is no successful negotiation; or

d) The bidder with the LCRB, HRRB, SCRB or SRRB refuses, without justifiable cause, to accept the award of contract, and no award is made in accordance with Section 40 of the Act and this IRR;"

WHEREAS, Sections 35.2 and 35.3 of the 2106 Revised IRR of RA 9184 mandate that in order to determine the reason for the failed bidding, the BAC shall conduct a mandatory review and evaluation of the terms, conditions, and specifications in the Bidding Documents, including its cost estimates, and based on its findings, the BAC shall revise the terms, conditions, and specifications, and if necessary, adjust the ABC, subject to the required approvals, and conduct a re-bidding with re-advertisement and/or posting, as provided for in Section 21.2 of the same IRR;

WHEREAS, Section 35.5 of the 2016 Revised IRR of RA 9184 provides that should there occur a second failure of bidding, the Procuring Entity may resort to Negotiated Procurement, as provided for in Section 53.1 of the same IRR;

WHEREAS, the 2016 Revised IRR of RA 9184 does not provide a period for the conduct of re-bidding and Negotiated Procurement under Two Failed Biddings modality;

WHEREAS, RA 9184 and its 2016 Revised IRR adhere to the principle of efficiency in the conduct of the procurement process, whether Competitive Bidding or Alternative Methods of Procurement;

WHEREAS, consistent with the declared policy of adherence to the principles of efficiency in the procurement process, the GPPB-Technical Support Office (TSO) proposed the issuance of a GPPB Circular prescribing a period for the conduct of re-bidding and Negotiated Procurement under Two Failed Biddings modality, thus:

"Seven (7) days after the failure of bidding, the Procuring Entity shall be able to post the procurement opportunity, either for re-bidding, or Negotiated Procurement in case of two-failed biddings. The BAC shall still observe the same periods as that of the competitive biddings for the other procurement activities.

In exceptional cases, however, taking into consideration the nature and complexity of the project, the 7-day period may be extended to fifteen (15) days;"

WHEREAS, during its 9th Regular Meeting on 29 November 2016, the Inter-Agency Technical Working Group (IATWG) discussed the proposal of the GPPB-TSO, and after due consideration, agreed to adopt such proposal for recommendation to the GPPB, subject to the following modifications, among others:

"The Bids and Awards Committee shall endeavor to conduct the re-bidding of a procurement project within 15 days after the declaration of failure of bidding under Section 35 of RA 9184 and its 2016 Revised IRR, which period may be extended up to 30 days in exceptional cases. The same periods shall be observed for the conduct of Negotiated Procurement under Two-Failed Biddings modality reckoned from the declaration of the second failure of bidding. Otherwise, if the procurement cannot be undertaken within such periods, the BAC shall make a report to the Head of the Procuring Entity so that the latter can make the appropriate decision."

WHEREAS, during the 12th GPPB and 10th IATWG Joint Meeting on 20 December 2016, the GPPB discussed the proposal of the GPPB-TSO, as modified by the IATWG, and after due deliberation and careful review, the GPPB approved the issuance of a Circular prescribing a period for the conduct of re-bidding and Negotiated Procurement under Two Failed Biddings modality;

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the foregoing, WE, the Members of the GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT POLICY BOARD, by virtue of the powers vested on Us by law, hereby RESOLVE to confirm, adopt and approve, as WE hereby confirm, adopt and approve the issuance of a Circular, copy of which is attached as Annex "A", prescribing a period for the conduct of re-bidding and Negotiated Procurement under Two Failed Biddings modality.

This Resolution shall take effect immediately.

APPROVED this 20th day of December 2016 at Pasig City, Philippines.

(SGD.) ____________________________Department of Budget and Management

________________________________________National Economic and Development Authority

(SGD.) ____________________________Department of Education

(SGD.) ____________________________Department of Energy

__________________________________Department of Finance

(SGD.) ____________________________Department of Health

(SGD.) ____________________________________________Department of Information and Communications Technology

___________________________________________Department of the Interior and Local Government

(SGD.) ____________________________Department of National Defense

_____________________________________Department of Public Works and Highways

(SGD.) ____________________________Department of Science and Technology

(SGD.) ____________________________Department of Trade and Industry

_________________________________Department of Transportation

(SGD.) ____________________________Private Sector Representative

ANNEX A

GPPB Circular No. 005-2016December 20, 2016