THE Commission on Audit (COA) has cautioned the provincial government of Mountain Province to improve its post-qualification procedures for public works contracts following the award of two infrastructure projects to a blacklisted contractor in 2023 that had to be canceled and later re-bidded.
In their 2023 report on the province, a team of government auditors noted that the P4.95 million Mayasen Diversion Dam construction and the P3.366 million Sumangan Irrigation Canal construction was initially awarded to ADL General Construction on March 1, 2023 with target completion dates set to September 2023 and October 2023, respectively.
However, the contract was subsequently terminated after the provincial government learned that the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) has included the ADL General Construction in its list of blacklisted contractors from February 28, 2023 to February 28, 2024.
The Bids and Awards Committee explained that it only learned of the blacklisting when the GPPB system declined to accept the name of the same contractor on the award of a different contract.
After the termination of the contracts, Mt. Province held a rebidding and the two projects were awarded to Tawid Builders Corp. which managed to complete both within the target dates of completion.
Both contracts were financed by the P10.16 million funding released by the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region (DA-CAR) on February 15, 2023 which was also the source of the P2.97 million Demang Diversion Dam rehabilitation project awarded to DJJD Marcelino Construction.
Verification by the auditors showed ADL General Construction was blacklisted by the GPPB for non-compliance with contractual obligations without a valid cause, poor performance and unsatisfactory quality of workmanship that did not meet specifications, and abandonment or non-completion of project/contract without justification.
The audit team reminded the provincial government that awarding public works projects to blacklisted contractors could cause delays in implementation and deprive more qualified bidders of opportunities to work on government contracts.
The local government’s BAC and its Technical Working Group told the COA that they will double-check with the GPPB during post-qualification and before issuing a notice of award to prevent unqualified contractors from winning government contracts.
