New bidding method focuses on quality of government projects—DBM

A bidding method under the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2024, ensures that the winning bid will provide high quality outcomes at a reasonable cost, according to Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

The DBM is the implementing agency for Republic Act (RA) No. 12009, or the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA), which replaced the 20-year-old Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184) and became effective on Aug. 13, 2024.

The law introduces the Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid (MEARB), a new method for evaluating offers for government projects.

“Through the MEARB, we can ensure that the best and winning bid will provide us with high-quality outcomes at a reasonable cost,” Pangandaman said in a Facebook post over the weekend.

The MEARB method determines the winning bid for the Procurement of Goods and Infrastructure Projects by considering both the overall cost and the quality of the goods or project, rather than solely focusing on the lowest bid price.

Procuring entities will use a quality-price ratio, allowing them to assess the quality component based on a predefined set of criteria and assign appropriate weights to both quality and price.

Pangandaman said “game-changing reforms” allow value and quality to be considered alongside the lowest price in project bidding.

She said the change aligns with the President’s directive that public funds “must be spent wisely and with measurable impact for the Filipino people.”

“This is a breakthrough for ensuring that government projects are both cost-effective and of enduring value,” she said.

Pangandaman said the MEARB would be an option alongside the long-standing Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB), ensuring a “fit-for-purpose approach.”

“We have incorporated the Most Economically Advantageous Responsive Bid alongside the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) as an option for evaluating offers,” Pangandaman said.“In using the MEARB, the procuring entities may consider added value in terms of energy consumption, maintenance, sustainability, disposal costs, and other qualitative standards they deem important to the project,” she said.