BAGUIO CITY– The Cordillera office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-CAR) asserted that the indefinite suspension of the scheduled public bidding for numerous infrastructure projects in the various parts of the region is aimed at improving the programs of work to make them advantageous to both the government and the participating contractors.
DPWH-CAR construction division head Engr. Clifton Valencerina said there are adjustments to be done in the programs of work for the multi-million projects that have been scheduled for public bidding last Wednesday, thus, the agency deemed it proper to work on the adjustments to avoid future complaints from participating contractors during the bidding process.
“We want to perfect our programs so there will be no reason for the participating contractors to question the details of the same and avoid unnecessary delays in the process,” Engr. Valencerina stressed.
The DPWH-CAR official explained that among the areas of adjustment on the programs of work include the increase of the excise tax from 2 to 4 percent, the provision of traffic management plans and signages, the proper disposal of debris from the construction site to the dumping area which has to be with containment walls, the provision of safety requirements as imposed by the labor department, the conduct of geo-technical assessment, among other equally important issues and concerns that have to be appropriately addressed by the agency before conducting the public bidding for the funded projects.
Earlier, some contractors who were supposed to participate in the scheduled public bidding for the infrastructure projects in the different parts of the region raised concern over the recent advisory from the agency that the scheduled public bidding last November 27, 2019 was indefinitely postponed, saying, the DPWH-CAR might again be allegedly looking into ways on how to disqualify city contractors so that the favoured contractors of a DPWH-CAR official will be the ones to be qualified and declared the winning bidder for such projects.
Valencerina allayed the fears of the concerned contractors, saying, the agency is currently updating the programs of work of the infrastructure projects that will be bidded out to incorporate lacking requirements and details to avoid unnecessary delays in the process that will affect the agency’s overall performance in the prosecution of funded projects.
He asserted there are numerous infrastructure projects that have been funded by the government in the different parts of the region that is why the agency needs more public works contractors to implement such projects to allow the agency to comply with the prescribed cash-based budgeting which will be implemented next year.
The DPWH-CAR construction division chief appealed to city contractors to ensure their compliance to the eligibility requirements considering that the agency now uses a web-based system to determine the qualifications of participating contractors in the public bidding of the funded projects in the region next year.
By HENT