Government Procurement Reform Act

Section 11

Each procuring entity shall establish a single BAC for its procurement. The BAC shall have at least five (5) members, but not more than seven (7) members. It shall be chaired by at least a third ranking permanent official of the procuring entity other than its head, and its composition shall be specified in the IRR. Alternatively, as may be deemed fit by the head of the procuring entity, there may be separate BACs where the number and complexity of the items to be procured shall so warrant. Similar BACs for decentralized and lower level offices may be formed when deemed necessary by the head of the procuring entity. The numbers of the BAC shall be designated by the Head of Procuring Entity. However, in no case shall the approving authority be a member of the BAC. Unless sooner removed for cause, the members of the BAC shall have a fixed term of one (1) year reckoned from the date of appointment, renewable at the discretion of the Head of the Procuring Entity. In case of resignation, retirement, separation, transfer, re-assignment, removal, the replacement shall serve only for the unexpired term: Provided, That in case of leave or suspension, the replacement shall serve only for the duration of the leave or suspension. For justifiable causes, a member shall be suspended or removed by the Head of the Procuring Entity.

Section 12

shall have the following functions: advertise and/or post the invitation to bid, conduct pre-procurement and pre-bid conferences, determine the eligibility of prospective bidders, receive bids, conduct the evaluation of bids, undertake post-qualification proceedings, recommend award of contracts to the Head of the Procuring Entity of his duly authorized representative: Provided, That in the event the Head of the Procuring shall disapprove such recommendation, such disapproval shall be based only on valid, reasonable and justifiable grounds to be expressed in writing, copy furnished the BAC; recommend the imposition of sanctions in accordance with Article XXIII, and perform such other related functions as may necessary, including the creation of a Technical Working Group from a pool of technical, financial and/or legal experts to assist in the procurement process. In proper cases, the BAC shall also recommend to the Head of the Procuring Entity the use of Alternative Methods of Procurement as provided for in Article XVI hereof. The BAC shall be responsible for ensuring that the Procuring Entity abides by the standards set forth by this Act and the IRR, and it shall prepare a procurement monitoring report that shall be approved and submitted by the Head of the Procuring Entity to the GPPB on a semestral basis. The contents and coverage of this report shall be provided in the IRR.

Section 13

To enhance the transparency of the process, the BAC shall, in all stages of the procurement process, invite, in addition to the representative of the Commission on Audit, at least two(2) observers to sit in its proceedings, one(1) from a duly recognized private group in a sector or discipline relevant to the procurement at hand, and the other from a non-government organization: Provided, however, That they do not have any direct or indirect interest in the contract to be bid out. The observers should be duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and should meet the criteria for observers as set forth in the IRR.

Section 14

To assist the BAC in the conduct of its functions, the Head of the Procuring Entity shall create a Secretariat that will serve as the main support unit of the BAC. The Head of the Procuring Entity may also designate an existing organic office within the agency to serve as the Secretariat.

Section 15

The Procuring Entity may grant payment of honoraria to the BAC members in an amount not to exceed twenty five percent (25%) of their respective basic monthly salary subject to availability of funds. For this purpose, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall promulgate the necessary guidelines.

Section 16

The GPPB shall establish a sustained training program for developing the capacity of the BAC's, BAC Secretariats and technical Working Groups of Procuring Entities, and professionalize the same.