Civil registry PPP bidding a go amid political shift

Denying it is a midnight deal, the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center is pushing ahead today with the bidding of a P1.6-billion project that will computerize part of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) operations.

The PPP Center said in a statement the bid submission for the project, formally called the Civil Registry System Information Technology Project Phase II, was set for today. The project was expected to be awarded on July 26, 2016.

The PPP Center said the system was designed to collect, access, store, maintain and manage civil registry documents and the specimen signatures of all city and municipal registrars using imaging technology.

“This project is definitely not a midnight deal for PSA. PSA is an independent statutory agency whose head has a fixed term until 2019. She will stay beyond June 30 [2016],” PPP Center executive director Andre Palacios said in a statement.

He was referring to the government transition into the Duterte administration, which would start next month.

Palacios noted the PPP contract for Phase 1 of the IT project expired in 2012 and was extended to 2015.

The PSA obtained Neda Board approval for the Phase 2 of the IT project in July 2015. The procurement process began in September 2015. According to PSA’s original procurement schedule, the contract should have been awarded by February 2016.

“This project is urgently needed and the concessionaire should be on board by September 2016,” said Palacios.

The current PPP contract for Phase 1 of PSA’s IT project has been extended a second time until March 2017. The contract for Phase 2 must be signed by September 2016 to allow for a six-month transition period.

“The transition period will ensure a seamless transfer to the new contractor without disruption in the IT services of providing official copies of civil registry documents,” the PPP Center said.

Palacios said failure to do so would disrupt the PSA’s civil registry services.

The PPP Center said it engaged reputable international consultants to assist the agency in conducting a credible bidding process.