Requesting Entity: Land Transportation Franchising & Regulatory Board

Issues Concern: Application of the Guidelines on the Procurement of Printing Services

Details

1. Whether the Guidelines on the Procurement of Printing Services should apply to procurement where the Invitation to Bid was posted prior to its effectivity.

Please be advised that the aforementioned Guidelines, which took effect on 8 January 2011, was issued by the GPPB pursuant to the Veto Message for the General Appropriations Act of 2010 and serves as the prevailing policy on the printing services.

It is a consistent rule on statutory construction that statues are to be construed as having only prospective operation, unless the purpose and intention of the legislature to give them a retroactive effect is expressly declared or is necessarily implied from the language used. In a long line of cases decided by the Supreme Court, it has been held that the principle of prospectivity applies to statues, administrative rulings and circulars and judicial decisions.

[C]onsidering that the said Guidelines took effect after the Invitation to Bid was published in a newspaper of general circulation and posted in the website of Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System, the procurement of printing services for the x x x accountable forms may not be covered by the Guidelines. As such, procuring entities may continue with the on-going public bidding based in the provisions of Republic Act 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations.