Requesting Entity: Binahon Agroforestry Farm

Issues Concern: Sealing of Bids

Details

1. Can BAC outrightly declare a bidder ineligible without opening the eligibility documents

[E]ligibility or ineligibility of the bidder is contingent upon the presence, completeness and sufficiency of the documentary requirements submitted. A bidder may be declared ineligible if its bid failed to include any requirement or is incomplete or patently insufficient.

2. What is the standard in signing all bid envelopes based on ITB Clause 20.3

Clause 20.3 of the PBDs for the Procurement of Goods provides that the original and copies of the envelopes containing the technical and financial components of the bid shall be signed by the bidder, but is silent whether the same should be done with the single envelope where all the envelopes containing the original and copies of the technical and financial components of the bid are enclosed. As such, the Procuring Entity (PE) may require that all envelopes shall be duly signed in the sealed overlaps or flaps by the bidder or duly authorized representative in order to maintain the integrity of the documents, provided that this requirement is explicitly and clearly indicated in the PE’s Bidding Documents.

3. What are the legal implications to those previous bids that were declared as passed but without signature in the envelope

[F]or any question regarding the decision of the BAC at any stage of the procurement process, the protest mechanisms provided in Rule XVII of the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9184 may be utilized to protect the rights of a bidder recognized under the procurement law and its associated IRR.