Tabuk City, Kalinga - Small contractors and the Kalinga Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways are at odds over the decision of the latter to cluster projects to P20M packages starting this year.
Under the scheme which the KED Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) claims to be allowed under the RA 9184 or the Procurement Act, small contractors can no longer participate in the bidding as the maximum price they could bid for is only P15M.
In their petition submitted to the KED and Kalinga Congressman Manuel Agyao, the small contractor vehemently objected to the new scheme claiming it unjustly disqualifies them in the implementation of projects in the province and only favors big time contractors.
They also charged that the scheme is confiscatory in nature as it deprives small time contractors of their source of livelihood.
Meanwhile, assistant district engineer and BAC chairman George Mi-ing defended the scheme saying mat it is part of the joint effort of the DPWH - Cordillera Administrative Region to pull the region out of the bottom when it comes to performance rating of the 16 DPWH regional offices in the country.
He said that for several years now DPWH-CAR has been languishing at the bottom and that the dismal performance of the KED is one of the factors contributing to the situation.
To drive home his point, Mi-ing informed that as of press time, there are still projects for 2007 in the KED which have not been completed negatively affecting the standing of the engineering district.
"We see clustering as one means of expediting the implementation of projects," Mi-ing told the media.
BAG vice chairman Andrew Choycawen claimed that from the KED's experience, under the old procedures, small contractors which lack equipment and are not financially capable have been able to contract projects resulting to delays in the implementation of the projects as well as in low quality of the output.
The two BAC officials denied that the new system of engaging the services of contractors is unfair to small contractors because they could always partner with big contractor or cluster among themselves in order to qualify to participate in the bidding.
One of the signatories of the petition of the small contactors who does not want to be named reacted that the KED should not generalize the performance of small contractors. He also asked that if it's the performance of the small contractors which really prompted the decision to cluster, how come the KED is allowing the same local contractors to enter into joint ventures with big time contractors or to cluster among themselves.
"In a joint venture between a small local contractor and outside big contractor, it is likely that the small contractor will do the job just the same because you cannot expect outside contractors to come work in the province. There is also the possibility of management problems which could lead to delays in the work," the contractor said.
The contractor said that if the intent of the KED is to prevent unqualified contractors from obtaining projects from the district, then there is always the post evaluation process where they could be weeded out.
The contractor suspects that the improvement of the performance of the district may not really be the real objective of the new scheme.
"With so many contractors in the province and so little infrastructure funds coming to the district, there is not enough work to go around," the contractor said adding that only seven local contractors benefit from the new system. ** By Estanislao Albano Jr.
Under the scheme which the KED Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) claims to be allowed under the RA 9184 or the Procurement Act, small contractors can no longer participate in the bidding as the maximum price they could bid for is only P15M.
In their petition submitted to the KED and Kalinga Congressman Manuel Agyao, the small contractor vehemently objected to the new scheme claiming it unjustly disqualifies them in the implementation of projects in the province and only favors big time contractors.
They also charged that the scheme is confiscatory in nature as it deprives small time contractors of their source of livelihood.
Meanwhile, assistant district engineer and BAC chairman George Mi-ing defended the scheme saying mat it is part of the joint effort of the DPWH - Cordillera Administrative Region to pull the region out of the bottom when it comes to performance rating of the 16 DPWH regional offices in the country.
He said that for several years now DPWH-CAR has been languishing at the bottom and that the dismal performance of the KED is one of the factors contributing to the situation.
To drive home his point, Mi-ing informed that as of press time, there are still projects for 2007 in the KED which have not been completed negatively affecting the standing of the engineering district.
"We see clustering as one means of expediting the implementation of projects," Mi-ing told the media.
BAG vice chairman Andrew Choycawen claimed that from the KED's experience, under the old procedures, small contractors which lack equipment and are not financially capable have been able to contract projects resulting to delays in the implementation of the projects as well as in low quality of the output.
The two BAC officials denied that the new system of engaging the services of contractors is unfair to small contractors because they could always partner with big contractor or cluster among themselves in order to qualify to participate in the bidding.
One of the signatories of the petition of the small contactors who does not want to be named reacted that the KED should not generalize the performance of small contractors. He also asked that if it's the performance of the small contractors which really prompted the decision to cluster, how come the KED is allowing the same local contractors to enter into joint ventures with big time contractors or to cluster among themselves.
"In a joint venture between a small local contractor and outside big contractor, it is likely that the small contractor will do the job just the same because you cannot expect outside contractors to come work in the province. There is also the possibility of management problems which could lead to delays in the work," the contractor said.
The contractor said that if the intent of the KED is to prevent unqualified contractors from obtaining projects from the district, then there is always the post evaluation process where they could be weeded out.
The contractor suspects that the improvement of the performance of the district may not really be the real objective of the new scheme.
"With so many contractors in the province and so little infrastructure funds coming to the district, there is not enough work to go around," the contractor said adding that only seven local contractors benefit from the new system. ** By Estanislao Albano Jr.
