THE Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Saturday, October 31, 2020, announced it will conduct public bidding for big-ticket projects online.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma said the agency’s various Bids and Awards Committees (BACs) had decided all future bidding processes will be conducted via online platforms and will be broadcast live through social media.
“Going online ensures transparency, efficiency and safety,” Eisma said.
She said the bidding process becomes faster, more transparent and credible, and keeps participants secure from the Covid-19 virus.
The SBMA had recently created the Facebook page “SBMA Procurement Service,” which will be managed by the various BACs, Eisma said.
According to lawyer Michael Quintos, SBMA deputy administrator for legal affairs, the move to conduct bidding online is under Administrative Order (AO) 34, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on October 23.
While the AO requires all government offices to conduct online bidding of big infrastructure projects, the SBMA went one step further and decided to use social media platforms to go live during biddings for public viewing, Quintos said.
He said in pre-pandemic times and for projects worth P50 million and above, the SBMA Bids and Awards Committee already opened bids in the presence of observers from the Commission on Audit and disinterested non-government organizations to ensure transparency.
Eisma also noted that even before AO 34, the SBMA was already posting pre-bid announcements on the SBMA website and other online platforms on top of the required publication in newspapers of the invitation to bid.
"Putting the actual proceedings available for public viewing via social media would be one huge stride in SBMA’s efforts toward greater transparency. This will further strengthen the system,” Eisma said.
The SBMA chief also said as the Covid-19 pandemic pushed practically the whole world to utilize internet applications for business, the SBMA has been stepping up its adoption of new systems that would address new requirements and changing protocols.
She said the agency has already established an online system of processing transactions with locators, suppliers and other business entities a couple of years ago.
Among the online transactions that the SBMA has established are services provided for port users, electronic billing and payment, filing for regulatory requirements, and lately online job application and medical consultations. (Ric Sapnu)