Only one bidder remained in the running for the government’s fuel marking system contract.
Beating the deadline for the submission and opening of bids yesterday, the joint venture between Switzerland-based Sicpa SA and SGS Philippines Inc. turned over its technical documents and financial proposal to the Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service (DBM-PS).
Jaime M. Navarrete, chair of the bids and awards committee, said in an interview that another prospective bidder, Texas-based Authentix Inc., had submitted instead a letter of regret saying the company could not participate in the project.
Navarrete said the DBM-PS would still hold a dialogue with Authentix to determine why it backed out of the bidding.
Even with only one party submitting an offer, the bidding process will continue as the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act allows a single qualified proposal, he explained.
Next week, the DBM-PS will subject to post-qualification process SicpaI-SGS’s technical proposal, which should meet at least 70 percent of the criteria, Navarrete said.
In case SicpaI-SGS’s technical score makes it, the financial bid will be opened next at a later date, he added.
But if SicpaI-SGS’s technical documents fail to meet requirements, the company will be declared post-disqualified, and the DBM-PS will rebid the project, Navarrete said.
The Department of Finance and the Bureau of Customs earlier said they wanted to implement the fuel marking system before the end of the year, as mandated under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, in order to arrest oil smuggling.
The DBM-PS and the BOC had set the price ceiling for the fuel marking at P0.08 per liter over a five-year period.
The winning bidder is expected to assist in establishing and operating a fuel marking system that will supply and inject fuel marker in all taxable oil products except Jet A-1, Avgas, Crude Oil and LPG, and implement and manage a fuel testing program.