NCC Guidelines on Government ICT Procurement 2004

All government ICT procurements must adhere to GPRA and IRR-A prescribed procurement processes.
Contracts must follow Executive Order No. 109-A amendments, aligning with RA 9184.
Use of agency-approved ICT bidding documents continues until standard documents are issued by the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB).
Submission of Requests for Proposal (RFP) to NCC for review is no longer required; evaluation responsibility rests with the agency's BAC.
Creation of a separate Prequalification Bids and Awards Committee for IT resources (PBAC-ITR) is prohibited; only one BAC per agency with possible divisions by geography or complexity as allowed.

Agencies must prepare an Annual Procurement Plan (APP) comprising Project Procurement Management Plans (PPMP) for ICT goods/services.
Submission of Information Systems Development Plans (ISDP) to NCC is abolished; instead, agencies must submit the approved APP annually or upon updates.
PPMPs must align with the agency's Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP), previously endorsed or approved by NCC.
Newly approved ICT projects not in the current ISSP must appear in the APP and PPMP.
Updates to PPMP and consolidated APP should occur at least semi-annually or as needed.

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Circular No. 492 mandates NCC clearance or an approved ISSP before releasing funds for IT equipment.
Agencies must submit NCC-approved ISSP to DBM before fund release; if ISSP is pending, submission of APP and relevant PPMP suffices.
Local Government Units (LGUs) are exempt from mandatory submission but must secure NCC clearance if using national funds.
Newly approved projects not in ISSP require NCC clearance based on submitted PPMP.
BOT scheme ICT projects require NCC certification as part of project proposals evaluated by NEDA.
ICT projects funded by the E-Government Fund but not in ISSP also require NCC certification.

An IT Professional is no longer a mandatory voting member of the BAC.
IT Professionals may serve on the Technical Working Group (TWG) to aid in bid evaluation and procurement assistance.
The TWG replaces the BAC-Technical Evaluation Committee per RA 9184 standards.
IT Professionals must be permanent government employees with ICT and procurement competency; designation required by agency head.
Agencies may hire ICT consultants to assist or substitute the IT Professional role, provided they have requisite expertise and no conflict of interest.

IS/IT providers no longer require NCC accreditation; instead, they register directly with procuring agencies and undergo eligibility checks.
The Government E-Procurement System (GEPS) maintains a centralized electronic database of all registered suppliers, including ICT providers.

Standard GPRA bidding procedures apply to ICT procurements, including stages such as:
- Pre-Procurement Conference
- Invitation and Pre-Bid Conferences
- Eligibility Check
- Shortlisting (for consulting services)
- Submission and Opening of Bids
- Bid Evaluation and Post-Qualification
- Notice of Award issuance
- Negotiation and Contract Signing
- Contract Approval and Notice to Proceed
The prequalification process is now called Eligibility Check.
Strict adherence to IRR-A timelines is required.
Agencies procuring ICT goods or services worth PHP 5 million or more must submit Procurement Monitoring Reports (PMR) to NCC semi-annually.

Procurement specifications must be based on detailed technical and performance requirements; reference to brand names is prohibited.
Both branded and clone computers may be procured if they meet technical specifications.

This Circular repeals NCC Memorandum Circular No. 99-02 and any inconsistent provisions of other circulars.