After biddings failed; Capitol sets talks over disaster consultancy

CEBU, Philippines - After the failure of two biddings, the Capitol is set to negotiate in the procurement of consultancy services for its Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (DRR-CCA) development and contingency plans of 51 local government units.

The Capitol’s Bids and Awards Committee has posted Thursday its invitation to engage in negotiation and request for submission of price quotation.

“In view of two failed biddings, the Province of Cebu thru its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) invites interested bidders for  a Negotiation and to submit bids/quotations for the hereunder requirements,” read the announcement.

The Capitol would like to engage the services of a consultant with an NGO Certificate of Accreditation from the Province of Cebu, which shall be selected and employed in accordance with Quality-Cost Based Evaluation/Selection (QCBE/QCBS) procedure (70 percent Technical and 30 percent Financial, com-prising a total of 100 percent, with a minimum technical score of 70 points).

Contract duration is seven months from the issuance of the Notice to Proceed (NTP).

The simultaneous negotiation is set for June 3, Friday, at 2 p.m. at the BAC Conference Room at the Capitol Building.

The complete technical specifications, guidelines, documents, and other information relative to the procurement will be the subject of discussion.

Afterwards, the Province of Cebu through its BAC, will distribute the Request for Quotation (RFQ) to prospective bidders.

The submission and opening of best and final offers is set for June 10.

The bidder with the Highest Rated Bid (HRB) or Single Rated Bid (SRB) shall be required to submit additional documents stated in the Checklist of Additional Requirements.

The second bidding was set last May 6, three days before the May 9 elections, after BAC disqualified the lowest bidder Kaabag sa Sugbo Foundation, Inc. due to its joint venture partners’ tax clearance discrepancies, which were discovered during the post qualification process of the first bidding.

BAC declared Kaabag, a network of 28 Cebu-based NGOs engaged in various aspects of social development work, in December 2015 as having the most responsive bid.

The P26,207,000 budget allotted for the project would be sourced from the general fund under the 2015 annual budget.

Last year, three NGOs, including the Freedom from Debt Coalition, Kaabag, and Naga College Foundation submitted their bids.

Out of the three, Kaabag reportedly met the criteria set by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. — (FREEMAN)