Requesting Entity: Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)

Issues Concern: Procurement of Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Details

Whether the BAC may opt to procure anew a contract for Internet Services through public bidding instead of renewing their existing contract.

Section 3.3.1 of the Guidelines on Procurement of Water, Electricity, Telecommunications, and Internet Service Providers (Guidelines) provides guidance for the procurement of ISP by government agencies with the existing ISPs, thereby allowing the renewal of the services of the existing ISP upon favorable result of the assessment or cost-benefit analysis conducted by the agency. It can then be gleamed from the Guidelines that it recognizes the fact that changing ISPs entails interruption of internet access and thereby allowing renewal of the procurement contract.

Nevertheless, the procuring entity is not proscribed from bidding out its ISP, as Section 10 of RA 9184 and its IRR identifies that Competitive Bidding shall be the default mode of procurement. Competitive Bidding, aims to protect the public interest by giving the public the best possible advantages thru open competition.