ILOILO City – Around 10 contractors were up in arms against the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of the municipal government of Pavia, Iloilo. They rued having a hard time securing bid documents needed to join biddings for proposed infrastructure projects.
“Daw indi gid manami. Sa iban nga banwa (and government) agencies indi man amo ‘ni ang proseso – diri lang ang mabudlay. Natingala kami kon ngaa,” lamented a contractor. “(Government) bidding is open sa tanan nga gusto mag-participate…Why is it kinanglan mabudlayan gid kami?”
According to the contractors, they were constantly told to just return some other time because, among other reasons, the persons issuing the bid documents were “on quarantine.”
“Damu man ‘na bala ang BAC members (or) technical working group nila,” said a contractor who asked not to identified for fear of reprisals. “Dapat may i-designate sila da para may ma-cater man sa mga contractors nga willing mag-purchase bid documents, mag-participate.”
The contractors again trooped to the BAC yesterday after several failed tries in recent weeks. They intended to join biddings for three projects. These were the following:
* construction of a motor pool in Barangay Tigum – P3 million Approved Budget for Contract (ABC)
* concreting of Railway Access Road in Barangay Cabugao Sur – P13.4 million ABC
* construction of Centennial Building in Poblacion – P5 million ABC
Most of them were told to submit new copies of their Special Power of Attorney (SPA) because the ones they submitted did not contain the words “municipality of” before the town’s name Pavia.
“Pareho man sini nga format ang ginapasa namon sa iban nga banwa nga gina-intrahan namon bidding pero wala man problema. Ngaa diri ‘ya sa Pavia indi pwede?” asked one contractor.
Due to “time constraints” – the biddings were scheduled on Aug. 10 – some of the frustrated contractors proceeded to the Pavia municipal police station yesterday afternoon to put their complaint on record.
“Para sa amon nga mga contractors, bidders and authorized representatives, kon subong (Aug. 5) pa kami pabaklon or buas (Aug. 6) or sa Monday (sang bidding documents), indi na kami kahingagaw mag-prepare sang technical documents kag amon estimates tungod damu ‘na nga preparasyon,” the complainant lamented.
“Indi lang ‘na ‘ya duha lang ka papel nga i-submit namon. May technical documents and financial documents kita. Gina-estimate pa ‘na, so kon subong kami ukon buas, indi na kami ka-prepare,” a contractor explained.
“Amo ‘na ang ginhambalan namon didto sa BAC. Tani sang nagligad nga pagkadto namon gin-entertain na kami kag gin-instruction-nan kon ano mga kinahanglan i-submit para ma-comply namon early,” the contractor added.
Having more bidders is very advantageous to the government, the contractors pointed out.
“The more nga damo ang kontraktor nga gusto mag-participate, the more nga pabor ‘ni sa gobyerno…kon 10 kami ka contractors mag-purchase sang bid documents siempre may income ang government. Paano ‘ni naton mahambal nga competitive bidding kon isa or duha lang ma-join sa bidding? Indi ‘na sia in favor sa government,” they stressed.
According to the contractors, they plan to file a complaint before the Ombudsman, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and other concerned government agencies.
The contractors also appealed to Mayor Laurence Anthony Gorriceta to look into their concern.
“Sundon ta kon ano ara sa guidelines sang RA (Republic Act) 9184,” they said.
RA 9184 is the Government Procurement Reform Act.
“Ga-join kami bidding sa mga national agencies like DBM (Department of Budget and Management), COA (Commission on Audit), Ombudsman, DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) kag sa iban nga kabanwahanan pero indi amo ‘ni ka budlay. So nagakatingala kami ngaa mabudlay diri magbakal (bidg documents) sa Pavia kag mag-intra sa bidding,” the complainants added.
Mayor Gorriceta could not be reached for comment as of press time./PN
