Requesting Entity: Ron Daniell Construction

Issues Concern: Discounts on Bid Price and Affixing Signature/Initial on the Bidding Documents

Details

Whether the Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) erred in accepting the “discount of 28% on all items in the Bill of Quantities” offered by a bidder after the bids have been submitted and sealed.

[A]lthough discounts are not entirely prohibited, it should be made an integral part of the original bid such that the discount and the bid price have the same validity period in order for it to be considered for purposes of bid evaluation; otherwise, the bid shall be evaluated sans the discount. This can be done either by including the document offering the discount in the bid or by submitting a modification prior to the deadline for submission, receipt and opening of bids.

[A] discount proposed by a bidder after submission, receipt and opening of bids should not be considered by the BAC as part of the bidder’s bid price. Acceptance of the discount offered and made manifest only after the deadline for submission of bids, and after the bids were opened would constitute improvement or modification of bids, which is prohibited under Section 26.1 of the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184.

Whether the SBAC erred in disqualifying a bidder for its failure to submit signed Technical Data Sheet.

Clause 19.4 of the Philippine Bidding Documents (PBDs) for the Procurement of Infrastructure Projects provides that the bid, with the exception of unamended printed literature, should be signed, and each and every page thereof initialed, by the duly authorized representative/s of the bidder. This requirement of affixing a signature and/or an initial on the Bidding Documents necessarily includes the Bid, Technical Data Sheet and Technical Specifications, and non-compliance with this requirement shall be ground for disqualification.