Requesting Entity: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration

Issues Concern: Philippine Overseas Employment Administration

Details

What legal remedy is available to the BAC in case it advertently stated on its Bid Documents that the required bond shall be at the rate of 2½% of the bid amount instead of 2½% of the Approved Budget for the Contract?

As may be read from the foregoing provision of the IRR-A (Section 27.2), the rule is categorical that the amount of the Bid Security shall be based on the approved budget for the contract and not on the bid amount. While it is true that the BAC committed the mistake of stating on its Bid Documents that the required Bid bond “be at the rate of 2½% of the bid amount,” the members are but deserving of commendation for the effort to rectify such error in view of complying with the express provision of law.

Appropriately, in the case of the POEA, with regard to the circumstances raised for this office’s consideration, the right and prudent remedy for the BAC to rectify the already-identified error is to declare a failure of bidding under Section. 41 of the IRR-A and conduct a re-bid in conformity with the prescribed rules.