Army buying P45-million worth of cotton uniforms

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Army is procuring 3,159 pairs of cotton uniforms worth over P45 million.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Randolf Cabangbang said the procurement of brand new suits, camouflage and 100 percent cotton battle dress attire is in line with the continuing small ticket acquisition program being enforced by the Army leadership.

The Army will procure the uniforms through a bidding process to be administered by the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC), a government corporation under the Department of Trade and Industry.

“To avoid direct contact among our own people with suppliers, it’s the PITC, a partner of the Philippine Army, that will be conducting the bidding process to screen qualified suppliers,” Cabangbang said.

PITC ventured into government procurement services in conformity with Republic Act 9184 and its revised implementing rules and regulations, providing government clients with efficient, transparent and timely procurement services.

In a published invitation to bid, PITC has invited eligible manufacturers who can deliver the cotton Army uniforms within 90 calendar days after receipt of the notice to proceed or the opening of the letter of credit, whichever comes later.

The PITC said the prospective bidder should have completed within the last five years from the date of the submission and receipt of bids at least one single contract of the same nature amounting to at least 25 percent of the procurement’s Approved Budget for the Contract.

The Army uniform procurement process will be done based on open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified by the PITC bidding rules.

A pre-bid conference will be held in the morning of July 29 at S/F conference room of NDC building at 116 Tordesillas street, Salcedo Village, Makati City.

Eligible bidders, who would be required to drop their bids at a designated bidding box before Aug. 12, are required to pay the non-refundable fee for the bidding documents on or before the pre-bid conference.

Aside from the procurement of uniforms, the Army has also lined up dozens of big ticket items under its capability upgrade program directly being handled by the Department of National Defense.

These big ticket items include 155 mobile howitzers, other heavy guns and other land-based equipment.