Procurement

All procurement shall be within the approved budget of the Procuring Entity and should be meticulously and judiciously planned by the Procuring Entity. Consistent with government fiscal discipline measures, only those considered crucial to the efficient discharge of governmental functions shall be included in the Annual Procurement Plan (APP).

For purposes of this IRR, a procurement project shall be considered crucial to the efficient discharge of governmental functions if it is required for the day-to-day operations or is in pursuit of the principal mandate of the Procuring Entity concerned.

The APP shall include provisions for foreseeable emergencies based on historical records. In the case of Infrastructure Projects, the APP shall consider the appropriate timing/phasing of related project activities, such as, engineering design and acquisition of right-of-way site or location, to reduce/lower project costs.

No procurement shall be undertaken unless it is in accordance with the approved APP, including approved changes thereto. The APP must be consistent with the duly approved yearly budget of the Procuring Entity and shall bear the approval of the HoPE or second-ranking official designated by the HoPE to act on his behalf

Upon issuance of the budget call in the case of NGAs, SUCs, Constitutional Commissions or Offices, or similar document for GOCCs, GFIs and LGUs, the Procuring Entity shall prepare its indicative APP for the succeeding calendar year to support its proposed budget taking into consideration the budget framework for that year in order to reflect its priorities and objectives.

Changes to the individual PPMPs and the consolidated APP may be undertaken every six (6) months or as often as may be required by the HoPE. The respective end-user
or implementing units of the Procuring Entity shall be responsible for the changes to the PPMPs, while the BAC Secretariat shall be responsible for the consolidation of these PPMPs into an APP, which shall be subject to the approval of the HoPE.

Changes in the APP, if any, for the budget year shall be submitted to the GPPB in July of the current budget year, and in January of the following budget year.

Refers to the budget for the contract duly approved by the HoPE, as provided for in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), continuing, and automatic appropriations, in the case of national government agencies (NGAs); the corporate budget for the contract approved by the governing board, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O). No. 518, s. 1979, in the case of GOCCs and GFIs, and R.A. 8292 in the case of SUCs; the budget approved by the Sanggunian through an appropriations ordinance in the case of LGUs. For multi-year contracts, for which a Multi Year Obligational Authority (MYOA) or an equivalent document is required, the ABC shall be that incorporated in the project cost reflected in the MYOA or equivalent document. 

For Foreign-funded Procurement, the ABC refers to the cost estimate prepared by the Procuring Entity and approved by the foreign government/foreign or international financing institution as specified in the Treaty or International or Executive Agreement.

The HoPE shall create a Secretariat which will serve as the main support unit of the BAC. An existing organic office within the Procuring Entity may also be designated to serve as Secretariat.

To strengthen and promote the professionalization of the organizations’ procuring unit, the HoPE may create procurement units that may serve concurrently as BAC Secretariat in accordance with the guidelines issued by DBM. The Secretariat shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

1. Provide administrative support to the BAC and the TWG;
2. Organize and make all necessary arrangements for BAC and the TWG meetings and conferences;
3. Prepare minutes of meetings and resolutions of the BAC;
4. Take custody of procurement documents and other records and ensure that all procurements undertaken by the Procuring Entity are properly documented;
5. Manage the sale and distribution of Bidding Documents to interested bidders;
6. Advertise and/or post bidding opportunities, including Bidding Documents, and notices of awards;
7. Assist in managing the procurement processes;
8. Monitor procurement activities and milestones for proper reporting to relevant agencies when required
9. Consolidate PPMPs from various units of the Procuring Entity to make them available for review as indicated in Section 7 of this IRR and prepare the APP; and
10. Act as the central channel of communications for the BAC with end-user or implementing units, PMOs, other units of the line agency, other government agencies, providers of goods, infrastructure projects, and consulting services, observers, and the general public

In case of an existing ad hoc Secretariat, the HoPE shall assign full-time support staff to their BAC Secretariat. The head of the Secretariat in central offices shall be at least a fifth (5th) ranking permanent employee or, if not available, a permanent employee of lower rank; or shall be at least a third (3rd) ranking permanent employee in bureaus, regional offices and sub-regional/ district offices, or if not available, a permanent employee of lower rank. In addition to integrity, Heads of Procuring Entities shall consider procurement proficiency as a factor in designating the head of the Secretariat and Procurement Unit.

To expedite the procurement process, the HoPE shall ensure that the members of the BAC, its Secretariat and TWG, shall give utmost priority to BAC assignments over all other duties and responsibilities, until the requirements for the said assignments at hand are completed.

Refers to a signed offer or proposal to undertake a contract submitted by a bidder in response to and in consonance with the requirements of the Bidding Documents.

For purposes of, and throughout the IRR, the term “Bid” shall be equivalent to and be used interchangeably with “Proposal” and “Tender."

Bid Securing Declaration is an undertaking which states, among others, that the bidder shall enter into contract with the Procuring Entity and furnish the required performance security within ten (10) calendar days, as indicated in the Bidding Documents, from receipt of the Notice of Award, and commits to pay the corresponding amount as fine and be automatically disqualified from bidding of any procurement contract of any Procuring Entity for a period of time, upon receipt of the Blacklisting Order, in the event it violates any of the conditions stated therein as required in the guidelines issued by the GPPB.

Refers to a contractor, manufacturer, supplier, distributor and/or consultant who submits a bid in response to the requirements of the Bidding Documents.

Refer to the documents issued by the Procuring Entity as the basis for bids, furnishing all information necessary for a prospective bidder to prepare a bid for the Goods, Infrastructure Projects and/or Consulting Services required by the Procuring Entity.

The HoPE shall designate at least five (5) but not more than seven (7) members to the BAC of unquestionable integrity and procurement proficiency

BAC for NGAs

The BAC for NGAs, departments, bureaus, offices, or instrumentalities of the GoP, including the judicial and legislative branches, constitutional commissions, SUCs, GOCCs, and GFIs shall be composed of the following: 

Regular Members:

1. Chairperson, who is at least a third (3rd) ranking permanent official of the Procuring Entity;
2. An officer, who is at least a fifth (5th) ranking permanent official, or if not available, an officer of the next lower rank with knowledge, experience and/or expertise in procurement who, to the extent possible, represents the legal or administrative area of the Procuring Entity: Provided, That in the case of bureaus, regional offices and sub-regional/district offices, BAC members shall be at least a third (3rd) ranking permanent personnel or if not available, an officer of the next lower rank;
3. An officer, who is at least a fifth (5th) ranking permanent official, or if not available, an officer of the next lower rank with knowledge, experience and/or expertise in procurement who, to the extent possible, represents the finance area of the Procuring Entity: Provided, That in the case of bureaus, regional offices and sub-regional/district offices, BAC members shall be at least a third (3rd) ranking permanent personnel or if not available, an officer of the next lower rank. 

Provisional Members:

1. An officer who has technical expertise relevant to the procurement at hand, and, to the extent possible, has knowledge, experience and/or expertise in
   procurement; and
2. A representative from the end-user or implementing unit who has knowledge of procurement laws and procedures, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson shall also be designated by the HoPE. Moreover, the Vice-Chairperson shall be a regular member of the BAC. For purposes of this IRR, the term “permanent” shall refer to a plantilla position within the Procuring Entity concerned.

BAC for LGUs:

Provinces, Cities, and Municipalities

1. One representative each from the regular offices under the Office of the Local Chief Executive such as, but not limited to, the following: Office of the Administrator, Budget Office, Legal Office, Engineering Office, General Services Offices; and
2. A representative from the end user unit.  The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be designated by the Local Chief Executive. The Chairperson of the BAC shall be at least a third (3rd) ranking permanent official of the Procuring Entity. The members of the BAC shall be personnel occupying plantilla positions of the Procuring Entity concerned. 

For Barangays:

1. The BAC shall be composed of at least five (5), but not more than seven (7) regular members of the Sangguniang Barangay, except the Punong Barangay.
2. The Punong Barangay, being the Local Chief Executive, shall designate the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and members of the BAC.

The HoPE may designate alternate BAC members, who shall have the same qualifications as that of the members originally designated. The alternate members shall attend meetings of the BAC and receive the proportionate honoraria, whenever the original members are absent. The alternate members shall have the same term as the original members.

In no case shall the HoPE and/or the approving authority be the Chairperson or a member of the BAC.

Unless sooner removed for a cause, the members of the BAC shall have a fixed term of one (1) year reckoned from the date of appointment, renewable at the discretion of the HoPE. Upon expiration of the terms of the current members, they shall continue to exercise their functions until new BAC members are designated. In case of resignation, retirement, separation, transfer, reassignment, removal, or death, the replacement shall serve only for the unexpired term: Provided, however, That in case of leave or suspension, the replacement shall serve only for the duration of the leave or suspension. For justifiable causes, a member shall be suspended or removed by the HoPE.

Functions of the BAC

The BAC shall have the following functions:

1. advertise and/or post the invitation to bid/request for expressions of interest;
2. conduct pre-procurement and pre-bid conferences;
3. determine the eligibility of prospective bidders;
4. receive and open bids;
5. conduct the evaluation of bids;
6. undertake post-qualification proceedings;
7. resolve requests for reconsideration;
8. recommend award of contracts to the HoPE or his duly authorized representative;
9. recommend the imposition of sanctions;
10. recommend to the HoPE the use of Alternative Methods of Procurement;
11. conduct any of the Alternative Methods of Procurement;
12. conduct periodic assessment of the procurement processes and procedures to streamline procurement activities pursuant to Section 3(c) of this IRR; and m) perform such other related functions as may be necessary, including the creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) from a pool of technical, financial, and/or legal experts. 

To the extent possible, the BAC in central offices shall render necessary assistance to its regional or lower office BACs to facilitate the conduct of procurement from preprocurement conference to the post-qualification stage.(a) 12.2 The BAC shall be responsible for ensuring that the Procuring Entity abides by the standards set forth by the Act and this IRR, and it shall prepare a Procurement
Monitoring Report (PMR) in the form prescribed by the GPPB. The PMR shall cover all procurement activities specified in the APP, whether ongoing and completed, from the holding of the pre-procurement conference to the issuance of notice of award and the approval of the contract, including the standard and actual time for each major procurement activity. The PMR shall be approved and submitted by the HoPE to the GPPB in electronic format within fourteen (14) calendar days after the end of each semester. The PMR shall likewise be posted in accordance with E.O. 662, s. 2007, as amended.

Refer to those goods, materials and equipment that are used in the day-to-day operations of Procuring Entities in the performance of their functions. For the purpose of the IRR, CSE shall be those included in the Electronic Catalogue of the PhilGEPS.

Refers to a method of procurement which is open to participation by any interested party and which consists of the following processes: advertisement, pre-bid conference, eligibility screening of prospective bidders, receipt and opening of bids, evaluation of bids, post qualification, and award of contract. For purposes of, and throughout the IRR, the terms “Competitive Bidding” and “Public Bidding” shall have the same meaning and shall be used interchangeably.