Requesting Entity: Department of National Defense (DND)

Issues Concern: Blacklisting of an Agent

Details

[E]xtent of the application of a blacklisting order to an agent in accordance with Republic Act (RA) No. 9184, its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) and the Guidelines for Blacklisting.

Article 1897 reinforces the familiar doctrine that an agent, who acts as such, is not personally liable to the party with whom he contracts.

There is no personal liability for agents. The reason for the law is that the agent who acts as agent does not represent himself but the principal.

Accordingly, applying the same principle of law, a bidder who was blacklisted as a “principal” in a previous procurement activity, may still represent a current bidder as an “agent” in government procurement opportunities, such as in the case of competitive bidding, since such blacklisted bidder is merely representing the current bidder as an “agent”. In the same manner, if the “principal” bidder is blacklisted by a procuring entity, its “agent” or representative is not blacklisted, unless the “agent” expressly binds himself through the Contract of Agency, or when he exceeds his authority as agent.