Third-party vetting proposed to deter public-works bid rigging

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT needs to consider the involvement of a third party to vet public infrastructure auctions, the Makati Business Club (MBC) said.

MBC Executive Director Rafael ASG Ongpin said the procurement law does not seem to have resulted in transparency in bidding for government projects.

“They tried. The procurement law is not that old. I am not an expert in this, but I think it is going to take direct intervention on the part of the government to put in a third party to really scrutinize all of these biddings,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“It is going to be hard because there are tens of thousands of these projects. But obviously, they are able to get around the procurement law,” he added.

He said that the MBC has long been questioning why such auctions do not involve reputable large infrastructure companies.

“It’s really about corruption, but it’s something that the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) can address,” he said.

“If PCC can make these bids fair, then we can get these reputable firms with integrity to bid,” he added.

According to Mr. Ongpin, the infrastructure corruption scandal has turned the government cautious about releasing funds for public projects.

“The reason that the corruption scandal has had an effect on this quarter’s gross domestic product growth is because the government precisely is scrutinizing the spending. So they’re not releasing the money,” he said.

“It’s not going to meet targets, certainly, because of this slowdown in the third quarter. But for 2026, I suppose there’s the potential that it can right itself,” he added.

The PCC is currently working with the Department of Public Works and Highways to investigate alleged anti-competitive behavior in the procurement of flood control projects.

“It is still ongoing, so it is all gathering evidence and firming up the case,” PCC Chairman Michael G. Aguinaldo said.

“It’s a priority. That’s all I can say right now. We’re trying to speed it up. But you’re only as good as the evidence that you are able to gather,” he added.

He said it is difficult for a third-party observer to detect bid rigging even by being present during the bidding process.

“You won’t see that from the bid itself but from the historical data, the past bids … That might give you an indication. But that alone (will not suffice). You still need to establish that link or (establish that bidders communicated with each other),” he added.

He said that he hopes the current investigations deter bid rigging in the future.