Duterte urges Congress to junk lowest bidder requirement in procurement law

President Rodrigo Duterte speaks at the Anti-Corruption Summit staged by the VACC at the PICC in Pasay on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. (Photo from an RTVM video)

President Rodrigo Duterte called on the Congress on Tuesday to amend the procurement law to remove the provision compelling government agencies to select the lowest bidder during procurement process.

“Yang lowest bidder na yan alisin niyo [Remove that lowest bidder provision],” Duterte said in a speech before the Anti-Corruption Summit staged by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

“Sinong nagbibid? Eh ’di yung sindikato, automatic [Who’s bidding? It’s a syndicate, automatically],” Duterte added, noting that corruption only flourished in such scheme.

The Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act No. 9184) stipulates that the lowest bidder should get government contracts.

Duterte also lamented the red tape in the bureaucracy, which results in the slow process of approving and rejecting business permits.

“Huwag mo na pahirapan yun tao [Do not make people suffer]. If you deny it [permits], deny it on time. If you approve it, approve it on time,” he said. /atm