MANILA, Philippines - The third bidding for the purchase of 21 UH-1 helicopters worth P1.26 billion was declared a failure Friday after the lone bidder for the project failed to meet some requirements of the government.
Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said some discrepancies in the documents submitted by the bidder – the joint venture of Rice Aircraft Services Inc. and Eagle Copters Ltd. – were “beyond repair.”
These include the submission of unsigned documents, which the BAC said are mere scraps of paper. The BAC even questioned the signatures in one of the documents submitted by the bidder.
The Rice-Eagle Copters joint venture also failed to meet a requirement on completed contracts.
To be eligible, a bidder should have completed a single contract worth at least 25 percent of the P1.26-billion contract for the 21 UH-1 helicopters. The BAC found out that the single largest contract completed by the bidder was short by more than P91,000.
Owing to these deficiencies, the Rice-Eagle Copters joint venture was declared ineligible to bid and the bidding was declared a failure.
“It is unfortunate that we have to declare the failed bidding,” Manalo said.
“I am really saddened. We all know that almost 20 typhoons visit us (every year) and these (helicopters) are primary (pieces of) equipment being used by the Air Force,” he added.
owing to the failed bidding, the Defense department is now considering acquiring the UH-1 helicopters or Hueys through negotiated procurement.
“It can be a negotiated procurement. As I have mentioned, the consideration will always be what is really best for the government and we will do it very very fast,” Manalo said.
Under a negotiated bid, companies that signified interest to supply the equipment will be invited to submit a proposal. The proposals will then be evaluated by a technical team.
However, the Defense department would have to expedite the acquisition as the budget allocation for the Huey project is set to expire in December.
Air Force Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Raul Dimatatac said they have much faith in the Huey helicopter, which has been part of their inventory for decades.
“Even if you put a blindfold on us, we can still tell the part (of the helicopter) we are handling. We have been using the helicopter for so long that our pilots and maintenance are very familiar with it,” he said in Filipino.
A total of eight companies bought bid documents for the project but only one joined the bidding.
The seven companies that expressed interest on the project but did not submit offers were Radom Aviation Systems Ltd; Serpenair Group Inc. / Bell Helicopter; St Aerospace Engineering Pte Ltd; Stone of David Tactical Equipment Company; Overseas Aircraft Support Inc; Aerospace Engineering Group; and Philjets Aero Services / Vector Aerospace.
The Huey acquisition project seeks to improve the capabilities of the Air Force, whose inventory has been depleted due to recent crashes. The air assets are expected to provide the much-needed air mobility to troops involved in internal security operations.
The 21 Huey helicopters were originally intended to perform poll duties last May but the acquisition has been delayed by failed biddings.
The first and second bidding, which were held last December and February, respectively, failed after the bidders did not meet certain requirements set by the Defense department.
The government sought to undertake a negotiated procurement after the second bidding failed. The law allows agencies to resort to a negotiated procurement after two failed biddings.
Officials, however, decided to hold a third bidding after the project drew interests from 14 companies.
(PhilStar)
Is there any options for the government to buy straight to manufacturer..why is that our government need for bidding if they can go straight the manufacturer.
BalasHapus