14 Feb 2005
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) today emphasized that the bidding for the Masinloc power plant was a successful bid which complied with Supreme Court jurisprudence and circulars of the Commission on Audit (COA).
Responding to reported misgivings that the Masinloc bidding was a failed bidding because only one bidder met the reserve price set for the power plant, PSALM Vice President and General Counsel, Atty. Maria Luz L. Caminero, stated that “the Supreme Court in its decision in Bagatsing v. Committee on Privatization (G.R. No. 112399, 14 July 1995) ruled that to constitute a failed bidding under COA’s Circular No. 89-296, providing guidelines on the divestment or disposal of government property, all offerors or bidders in a bidding must be disqualified.”
Quoting the decision, Atty. Caminero added that, “as the Court pointed out in the said case, ‘Under said COA Circular, there is a failure of bidding when: 1) there is only one offeror; or 2) when all the offers are non-complying or unacceptable.’”
“In Bagatsing, there were three offerors. While two offerors were disqualified, one for submitting a bid below the floor price and another for technical reasons, not all the offerors were disqualified. According to the Court, ‘To constitute a failed bidding under the COA Circular, all the offerors must be disqualified.’” Atty. Caminero added.
“The Masinloc power plant was bid out following COA Circular No. 89-296, which is the same circular referred to by the Supreme Court in the Bagatsing case. Hence, the rule stated by the Supreme Court also applies to the Masinloc bidding,” Atty. Caminero said.
“In the Masinloc bidding, two bidders qualified for the evaluation of required submissions, and one bidder, specifically YNN Pacific Consortium, met, and in fact exceeded, the reserve price set by the PSALM Board for the Masinloc plant. As such, the Masinloc bidding was a successful bidding, in accordance with law and jurisprudence,” Atty. Caminero concluded.
Strategic Communications and Partnership Division |