Cebu City Starts Rebidding of New CCMC

The Cebu City government has invited contractors to join the rebidding of the new billion-peso Cebu City Medical Center project, but they must have completed a similar project in the last five years to qualify.

Cebu City Engineer Jose Marie Poblete, who heads the Bids and Awards Committee for the hospital project, said the criterion was put in place to “safeguard” the billion-peso project.

Poblete said they are required and mandated to follow the law as the project involves public funds.

But he said that instead of a past hospital project worth at least P300 million, the BAC would only require 50 percent of the amount for the CCMC construction that costs nearly P600 million for first phase alone.

This is allowed under Section 23 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act.

“The prospective bidder must have experience of having completed at least one contract that is similar to the contract to be bid and whose value, adjusted to the current prices using the NSO consumers price indices, must be at least 50 percent of the ABC to be bid,” read the IRR.

Poblete said they are lowering the requirement to entice more investors to participate in the rebidding.

“We can’t remove the five-year requirement but we are imposing the 50-percent (less) of the total contract cost instead of P300 million,” he said.

The city government Wednesday published an invitation to bid in several local and national newspapers, with the advertisement running until the 25th. (PNA) CTB/EB/EDS