ABS-CBN News, 29 October 2014
 
MANILA – Several local and foreign business groups on Tuesday said government has no legal basis to conduct a rebidding of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) project.

In a joint statement, the Makati Business Club (MBC), American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AmCham), Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Philippines (ANZCham), Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham), Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), Japanese Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (JCCIPI), and Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said there will be no need for a do-over because the bidding process was done in full compliance with the BOT Law.

“It is our strong belief that the Department of Public Works and Highways conducted the bidding of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway with complete transparency and fairness, and in full compliance with the BOT Law. As such, we believe that there is no legal basis for rebidding the project,” the groups said.

The groups also expressed concern that not honoring the concluded bidding process may affect the trust of investors in the government’s public-private partnership (PPP) program.

“We share the concern of our colleagues in the private sector that a disregard of the present rules through a rebid will adversely impact investor confidence in the PPP Program and in our bidding procedures, which the DPWH and the PPP Center have been painstakingly reforming for the better, and consequently promoting here and abroad,” they said.

The groups also urged the government to enact amendments to the BOT Law “that will institutionalize the PPP Center and its processes, and which we believe will further strengthen our PPP framework and prevent hindrances to the implementation of critical public projects.”

“Consistency and predictability in policy and adherence to rules, among other factors, form the bedrock of investor confidence in any economy. In light of the significant attention that the Philippines has been gaining from the international and domestic investing community, it is our firm belief that the country must hold fast to these principles in order to sustain the gains that the country has achieved in the past four years,” they added.

President Aquino earlier said the government is inclined to conduct a rebidding of the controversial P35 billion project following San Miguel Corp.’s appeal on its disqualification from the bidding.

Malacañang has said that any rebidding for the project would have factual and legal basis.

Ayala and Aboitiz group’s Team Orion submitted the highest bid of P11 billion while San Miguel’s Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc. was disqualified because of errors in its bid security.

San Miguel said its bid, which wasn’t opened by the DPWH, was P20 billion.