行政院公共工程委員會

菲律賓並非GPA會員，並認為加入GPA將會限制該國運用政府採購來促進經濟發展，自1999年以來該國政府採購制度最重要的個變革是新的法律制度和引進電子化採購系統。

該國2003年制定政府採購改造法案，規範之政府採購（含國營事業採購）計有：財物、勞務、公共工程、諮詢服務，且不論資金來自本國或國外皆受規範，該法案之宗旨在達到採購流程的標準化和簡化，並確保政府採購透明、公開、公正的原則能被遵循。

該國2001年起開始使用電子採購系統，其目的是在提升政府採購透明度和降低採購成本，當局表示實施成效良好，使用電子採購系統的機關已省下不少預算和時間，並吸引更多的廠商參與競標，當局期望電子採購系統在不久的將來可降低政府營運支出達百分之九。

1. The Philippines is not a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA); it believes that binding rules on government procurement is inappropriate in view of the need for flexibility given its importance as a development tool.[1] The most important changes in the procurement system since 1999 was the introduction of an electronic procurement system and of new legislation. The Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act No. 9184 of 10 January, 2003) regulates government procurement, including purchases by government-owned corporations, of goods, services, infrastructure projects, and consulting services, regardless of the source of funds, whether local or foreign. The Act is aimed at standardizing and streamlining the procurement process, and ensuring that the principles governing public procurement, transparency, and the provision of equal opportunities to all parties, are respected.

2. The electronic procurement system, adopted in 2001, is aimed at enhancing transparency and reducing costs by having an electronic bid board, electronic catalogue, and electronic registry system. It was to transform government procurement, rife with corruption, towards transparency, competition, and accountability, while lessening discretion, collusion, and delays.[2] According to the authorities, the E-system's introduction has made procurement considerably more transparent and less costly. The agencies that have used it have shown substantial savings, including on procurement time, and more bidders have been attracted. Over the medium term, the authorities expect to generate savings of PhP8.1 million (equivalent to 9% of government operating expenditures) as procurement becomes more transparent and efficient.[3]

3. In general, procurement is through competitive bidding. Alternative procurement methods are used under special circumstances (Table III.5). In all instances, however, the procuring entity has to ensure that the "most advantageous price" for the Government is obtained.[4] The authorities indicate that the bid with the lowest cost to the Government is deemed to be the bid with the "most advantageous price".

4. Each procuring entity must establish a single Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). The BAC advertises and/or posts the invitation to bid, conducts pre-procurement and pre-bid conferences, determines the eligibility of prospective bidders, receives and evaluates bids, undertakes post-qualification proceedings, and recommends the award of contracts to the head of the procuring entity. It may also recommend the use of alternative procurement methods.

5. The bidding documents are prepared by the procuring entity following the standard forms and manuals prescribed by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB). At all stages of the preparation of the bidding documents, the procuring entity must ensure equal access to information.

6. Prior to issuing an invitation to bid, the BAC must hold a pre-procurement conference, except for contracts below certain amounts (PhP2 million for goods and PhP1 million for consulting services), for which it is optional. The aim of the pre-procurement conference is to assess the availability of funds and whether the relevant documents comply with the law.

7. All invitations to bid for contracts under competitive bidding must be advertised to ensure the widest possible dissemination. At least one pre-bid conference needs to be held within a reasonable period before the deadline for receipt of bids, to allow prospective bidders to adequately prepare bids.

8. The eligible prospective bidders must be evaluated using numerical ratings based on the prescribed short-listing requirements. A bid should, in principle, have two components: the technical and the financial component, and these must be submitted simultaneously in separate sealed envelopes. The BAC must receive the bids on the date, time, and place specified in the invitation to bid and the bids must be opened in public on the date, time, and place specified in the bidding documents.

9. The BAC first examines the technical components of bids, and if satisfied then evaluates the financial components. Short-listed bids for the procurement of goods (including non-consulting services) and infrastructure are ranked from lowest to highest in terms of their calculated price; the bid with the lowest calculated price is referred to as the "lowest calculated bid." For procurement of consulting services, short-listed bids are evaluated and ranked using numerical ratings in accordance with the evaluation criteria stated in the bidding documents.[5] The bids are ranked from highest to lowest in terms of their corresponding calculated ratings; the bid with the highest calculated rating is the "highest rated bid". Thereafter, the BAC verifies whether the bidder making the "lowest calculated bid" (for goods, infrastructure and non-consulting services) or the "highest rated bid" (for consulting services) has passed all the requirements and conditions as specified in the bidding documents. If the bidder passes all the post-qualification criteria, their bid is considered the "lowest calculated responsive bid" or the "highest rated responsive bid", and the contract is awarded.

10. Specific deadlines apply, inter alia, for the head of the procuring entity to approve or disapprove the BAC's recommendation, to issue the notice of award to the chosen bidder, and to sign the contract. In general, the procurement process from the opening of bids to award of the contract may not exceed three months. The BAC's decisions may be contested at all stages of the procurement process, to the head of the procuring entity. Any disputes must be resolved before an award is made.

11. The head of the agency may reject any bid or not award a contract if: there is evidence of collusion between the employees of the procuring entity, or between the BAC and any of the bidders, or between or among the bidders, or between a bidder and a third party; if the prescribed bidding procedure is not followed; or if the contract is not of benefit to the Government. No data are available on the number of contracts that have been rescinded on these grounds.

12. Foreign participation in the procurement of goods remains restricted, and seems to depend upon the source of the funds for the project and the domestic availability of the procured goods and services. The Constitution provides for a strong preference to procure domestically. It requires the state to give preference to qualified Filipinos (section 10), and to promote the preferential use of Filipino labour, domestic materials, and locally produced goods, as well as to adopt measures that help make them competitive (section 12). For foreign assisted projects, overseas firms may apply, subject to a 15% price preference for domestic suppliers (those with at least 75% Filipino ownership). However, for other projects, only Filipino firms may participate in public procurement, irrespective of the possible costs savings of using a foreign supplier.[6] However, if the goods are not available locally, or where there is a need to prevent unfair competition, foreign suppliers may be invited to participate.[7] In addition, in the interest of efficiency and timely delivery of goods, the procuring entity may give preference to the purchase of domestically produced goods that satisfy the specified or desired quality. No data are available on foreign participation in government procurement.

[1] APEC (2005b), p. 26.

[2] The President's Budget Message for 2002.

[3] The President's Budget Message for 2004.

[4] A procuring entity is any government branch, department, office, agency, or body, including state universities and colleges, government-owned and/or controlled corporations, government financial institutions, and local government units procuring goods, services, consulting services and infrastructure projects.