If all governance is local and all economics is micro, then all progress is provincial.

We have said it before, and we are saying it again: The folks running local government units are in the best position to know the terrain, the needs, and the potentials of their communities.

In the same vein, local private construction and development contractors know first hand the “lay of the land”; therefore, they should have  first crack at bidding for LGU contracts.

This proposition should not be treated as a “home-town decision” but as a sincere effort of government to “even the playing field” for both big and small industry players.

And so with this in mind, we support the call of congressional leaders for the Restoration of the privilege of home-grown bidders to take on provincial projects, which was taken away eight years ago by Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Law.

Bohol 2nd District Rep. Erico Aumentado, chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, said such privilege should be restored because a qualified provincial bidder performs better than an "outsider" in the implementation of projects within his province as his logistics, equipment and manpower are already in place within the locality.

"The provincial bidder has an advantage of mobilizing his manpower and equipment faster than an outside bidder who must bring his logistics into the province where the project is located," Aumentado was quoted by a major broadsheet as saying.

He said the provincial bidder uses quality local materials and local labor,  a move which would boost government efforts to create jobs, adding that the funds for the provincial projects also circulate in the province, thereby stimulating the local economy.

As provided by Section 45 of RA 9184, "Within five years from the effectivity of the law, a contractor who participates in the bidding of provincial programs and infrastructure projects whose principal office is within the same province, and who submits the lowest bid among the provincial bidders which is higher than the lowest bid made by a contractor with principal office outside the said province shall be granted the privilege to match the bid made by the latter. Provided, however, that the release of funds for said projects shall be published in a local newspaper with the widest circulation and the website of the Department of Budget and Management, the mechanisms of which shall be spelled out in the IRR."

According to Aumentado, it is evident the provincial bidder's privilege to match the lowest calculated bid made by a contractor with a principal office outside the province is limited to five years from the effectivity of RA 9184 on Jan. 10, 2003. Consequently, that privilege ended effectively on Jan. 10, 2008.

In House Bill 4955, Aumentado sought the amendment of Section 45 of RA 9184 so that: "A contractor who participates in the bidding of provincial priority programs and infrastructure projects, whose principal office is within the same province, and who submits the lowest bid among the provincial bidders, which is higher than the lowest calculated bid made by a contractor with principal office outside the said province, shall be given 48 hours from receipt of written advice from the Bids and Awards Committee to match in writing the lowest calculated bid."

The matching would  also be made through proper adjustments in his unit- bid prices without changing the scope of work and work items prescribed by the procuring entity in the bidding documents.