Bidders Fail To Meet Philippines Patrol Aircraft Requirements

Seven companies bidding to win the Philippines’ long range patrol aircraft worth $136 million have been unable to meet the requirements set by the Defense department.

The Special Bids and Awards Committee 1 (SBAC-1) declared a failed bidding after examining bid documents for almost 12 hours on Monday in Camp Aguinaldo, according to local media reports.

The aircraft manufacturers that submitted bids were EADS/CASA Airbus Defense and Space of Spain; Elta Systems Ltd. and Elbit Systems Ltd., both from Israel;  Saab Asia Pacific Co. Ltd. of Sweden; PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero) Indonesian Aerospace of Indonesia; Lockheed Martin and L3 Mission Integration, both from the United States.

Of the seven bidders, only Elta Systems Ltd. and Elbit Systems Ltd. met the eligibility requirements. The other bidders had deficiencies in their eligibility documents, including failure to present a list of completed contracts similar to the long range patrol acquisition project.

Elta and Elbit, however, failed to hurdle the next phase of the bidding, which involves the technical aspects of the aircraft they are offering.

“Both proponents did not include in their proposal the fast-moving items and consumables in the list of minimum deliverables,” SBAC-1 chairman Defense Undersecretary Fernando Manalo told The STAR newspaper.

The disqualified firms, however, have three days to ask the SBAC-1 to reconsider its decision declaring them ineligible to bid for the project. The committee will take up the motions for reconsideration in a separate meeting. If none of the motions for reconsideration were granted, SBAC-1 will have to hold another bidding for the project, the report added.

Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said the long range patrol aircraft would serve as the military’s “eyes and ears” as it secures the country’s territory.

“(The project is) very important. They are your eyes and ears. They will provide the eyes and ears in the areas of our maritime domain and plug the gaps in the air surveillance capacity,” Velez said.

The project will be funded by the Revised Armed Forces Modernization Program signed by President Aquino in 2012.

The winning bidder is required to deliver the air assets within 1,035 calendar days from the receipt of notice to proceed from the government. The notice to proceed is a document that will pave way for the implementation of the contract, the report added.