The Department of Transportation said Thursday it will no longer allow prospective bidders with pending cases to participate in bidding activities.
Transportation Undersecretary for legal affairs and procurement Reinier Paul Yebra said this was the instruction of Secretary Arthur Tugade in line with the procurement principles under Republic Act 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
“Prospective bidders who want to do business with government must have a clean record, and must have a history of good dealings with the government. It’s that simple,” Tugade said.
Yebra said the DOTr was duty-bound to ensure that all prospective bidders were properly screened towards the goal of preventing opportunities for corruption in government.
He said all prospective bidders were required to submit a certification, under oath, certifying that they had no pending case/s against the government.
This certification should be included in the bid data sheet that the DOTr requires for all its projects.
“Failure of a bidder to comply with the requirement or submission of a false certification shall constitute a ground for automatic disqualification,” Yebra said.