NPM No.-27-2005 - Re: Clarification on the Provisions of Republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184) and Its Implementing Rules and Regulations Part A (IRR-A) - Opinion

Sep 22, 2026

Clarification opinion addresses requests regarding government procurement under Republic Act No. 9184 (R.A. 9184) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations Part A (IRR-A). It examines whether a security agency awarded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Central Office must be automatically employed by other DOST agencies in the same compound. It also discusses whether a two-stage bidding procedure may be used for security services, concluding it is generally not applicable when specifications are determinable.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Re: Clarification on the Provisions of Republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184) and Its Implementing Rules and Regulations Part A (IRR-A)

General Rule: Competitive Bidding for all procurement contracts

Two-Stage Competitive Bidding

NPM No.027-2005 May 23,2005 HON.FORTUNATOT.DE LA PENA Undersecretary Bids and Award Committee,ChairpersonDepartment of Science and Technology # Re :Clarification on the provisions of Republic Act 9184(R.A.9184)and its Implementing Rules and Regulations Part A(IRR-A) Dear Undersecretary De la Pena: This refers to your letter dated 20 April 2005 which we received on 25 April2005,requesting for opinion on the following issues: 1.Whether or not the security agency which was awarded the contractduring the bidding conducted by the Department of Science andTechnology(DOST)Central Office be automatically employed byother DOST agencies;and 2.Whether or not a two-stage bidding procedure may be conducted forthe services abovementioned. In said letter,it is mentioned that DOST has its Central Office and several of itsattached agencies located within a single compound.For better management of securityin the area,it was determined that only one security agency shall be hired to handle thesecurity services for the compound.To this end,the DOST Central Office Bids andAwards Committee(BAC)plans to conduct the bidding for the services of securityguards for the Central Office,whereupon the awardee shall be hired,under separatecontracts,by the said DOST attached agencies located in the same premises for theirown security requirements. ## General Rule:Competitive Bidding for all procurement contracts The policy of the law is for the Government to procure through competitive,transparent and public bidding.Only in exceptional cases may the alternative methods/ of procurement under Republic Act No.9184(R.A.9184)be resorted to.²Theimplication of this policy is to require that all procurement contracts are acquired onlythrough the modes prescribed by law.Hence,no other mode of acquisition ofprocurement contract is allowed. It bears stressing that every procurement opportunity opened to the publicshould sufficiently describe the exact requirement of the procuring entity and theapproved budget for the contract.Interestingly,the procurement undertaking by theDOST Central Office,as defined in its Annual Procurement Plan(APP)and itsProcurement Project Management Plan(PPMP),makes specific reference to its ownrequirements and does not contemplate that of the other agencies. Parenthetically,by advertising the procurement opportunity,DOST CentralOffice opened an opportunity only to the extent of its own requirements.And,to allowthe attached agencies to conveniently contract with the awardee in the procurementundertaking of DOST Central Office to dispense with the bidding process required forthe procurement,would amount to a violation of the principle of open and publiccompetition in government procurement. In light of the foregoing premises,the DOST Central Office and the otherAgencies may consider a joint undertaking on the hiring of the services of a singlesecurity agency to manage the whole compound,as a single procurement project.Following this suggestion,it may be wise that participating agencies,including DOSTCentral Office,agree on the terms of their joint undertaking. # Two-Stage Competitive Bidding The Two-Stage Competitive Bidding Procedure is not applicable in theprocurement of security services where specifications/Terms of Reference aredeterminable and easily defined. The Two-Stage Competitive Bidding Procedure may be employed for theprocurement of goods,where:(1)Due to the nature of the project requirements,therequired technical specifications/requirements of the contract cannot be preciselydefined in advance of bidding;or(2)the problem of technically unequal bids is likelyto occur.³ Under this procedure,the procuring entity concerned shall prepare the biddingdocuments,including the technical specification only in the form of performancecriteria.Prospective bidders are then requested to submit their respective Letters ofIntent(LOI),their eligibility requirements if needed and their initial technicalproposals.Du

FAQs

Whether the awarded security agency for DOST Central Office is automatically employed by other DOST agencies in the same compound?

The opinion addresses the question and analyzes procurement principles, emphasizing that procurement contracts must follow the modes prescribed by law and do not allow dispensing with required bidding processes.

Can a two-stage bidding procedure be conducted for the procurement of security services?

The document states that the two-stage competitive bidding procedure is not applicable to security services when specifications or Terms of Reference are determinable and easily defined.

When is the two-stage competitive bidding procedure allowed under IRR-A?

It may be employed for goods when technical specifications cannot be precisely defined in advance or when technically unequal bids are likely to occur, with procedures for performance-criteria based technical evaluation before price proposals.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by supergirl