Requesting Entity: Office of the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication

Issues Concern: Applicability of R.A. 9184 to Foreign Funded Projects

Details

Whether or not the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) complied with the procurement guidelines of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) regarding the bidding of the New Iloilo Airport Development Project.

Based on the above-cited provision (Section 1, IRR-A), it can be clearly and logically inferred that the IRR-A of R.A. 9184 does not apply to projects funded by International Financing Institutions (IFI). This being the case, the procurement activity for the New Iloilo Airport Development Project (NIADP), funded through Loan Agreement No. PH-P214 between the Republic of the Philippines and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), is governed by the procurement guidelines, rules and regulations of JBIC.

Due to the foregoing elucidations, and by virtue of the mandate of the GPPB under R.A. 9184 and its IRR-A, it is respectfully conveyed that the GPPB is not in a legal position to determine whether a particular government agency has complied with or violated the procurement rules and regulations of the IFI funding a specific project. Additionally, assuming the GPPB confirms compliance or non-compliance by the procuring entity, at the end of the day the IFI still has the final authority to determine whether its procurement guidelines have been complied with or not.