Requesting Entity: Assurance Controls Technologies Co., Inc.

Issues Concern: Period of Action for Procurement Activities

Details

(1) Whether the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), in its bidding for Digital Radiology System, could accept an unbranded equipment.

[T]he Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) and its Technical Support Office (TSO) only render policy and non-policy opinions respectively, on issues purely relating to the interpretation and application of our procurement laws, rules and regulations. It has no jurisdiction to rule over actual controversies with regard to the conduct of the bidding since it has no quasi-judicial functions under the law. Hence, this office has consistently refrained from passing upon decisions of the BAC pertaining to the determination of compliance with the bidding documents for a particular project. The determination whether the submission of unbranded equipment is compliant with the specifications and requirements provided in the bidding documents for Digital Radiology System is properly within the discretion of the PHC BAC to decide.


(2) Whether it could validly issue a Notice of Award (NOA) eighty four (84) calendar days after the date of submission and receipt of bids.

x xx Section 38.1 of the IRR requires that the procurement process starting from the opening of bids up to the award of the contract shall not exceed three (3) months or ninety (90) calendar days. Considering that the submission of the bids took place on 15 December 2011 and the NOA was subsequently issued on 8 March 2012, it took the procuring entity a total of eighty four (84) calendar days to complete such actions, which is well within the three (3) months or ninety (90) calendar days period prescribed in RA 9184 and its IRR.

[T]he issuance of the NOA within eighty four (84) calendar days from the date of opening of bids is valid since it is within the allowable time frame under RA 9184 and its IRR.