BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan urged Cordillera lawmakers to spearhead the introduction of proposed amendments to pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9184 or the Government Procurement Act to allow the conduct of bidding of projects the soonest so as not to affect their implementation.
The local chief executive revealed that it takes a minimum of 45 days for a project or simple procurement of goods and services to be bidded out by the concerned Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) which greatly affects the state of the implementation of projects.
Domogan, who presided over the Advisory Committee meeting of the Cordillera Regional Council (RDC) in Quezon City last Monday, said that one of the major factors affecting the performance of concerned government agencies and the local governments in the implementation of their programs, projects and activities is the snail paced bidding process that could extend up to several months thereby compromising the quality of the projects being undertaken by the winning bidders as well as the quality of the goods to be delivered to the end users.
Because of the delay in the awarding of projects and the procurement of goods and services to the supposed winning bidders, he explained that contractors are sually caught with the increase in the prices of construction materials and supplies that lead to the quality of the implemented projects being compromised leading to the either imposition of liquidated damages against the project implementers or the abandoned implementation of their projects.
“It is high time that we work out the needed amendments to the procurement law to conform with the trend of the times so that we will not be encountering serious delays in the completion of our priority development projects and the procurement of basic goods and services,” Domogan stressed.
He claimed that under the existing procurement law, local chief executives are not members of the BAC but in the signing of procurement documents, they are included as signatories aside from the fact that they are the ones being charged and convicted when there are questions raised by aggrieved parties in the conduct of the bidding process, thus, it is unfair on their part to be charged when they did not have direct participation right from the start of the process.
According to him, the bidding process under the old law is much better because the BAC has the option to subject certain projects and procurements to emergency bidding procedures unlike in the present set up wherein even the alternative modes of bidding will take some time before being consummated that will render the projects or procurements already out-dated.
He said that he will continue to make representations with concerned lawmakers like House Majority Floor Leader Rolando Andaya, who is the author of RA 9184, to fastrack the introduction of amendments to the existing procurement law to allow concerned government agencies and local governments to have the ease of undertaking the process that will allow the improved implementation of more development projects and enhance the delivery of basic services to the people.
By Dexter A. See
