Section 23Sec./Art. 23

Procurement Through Public Auction. -The National Museum shall be authorized to procure unique, special and/or original items for its collections through bidding at public auction, including online public auction, in such special cases as the Board shall in each instance approve by means of a resolution. For each item, the Board shall predetermine an appropriate price ceiling based on its judgment of the fair market valuation of the same, exclusive of commissions, fees, charges, taxes and other associated expenses.

The interest of the National Museum in a certain item shall be made known to the management of the public auction, which shall duly disclose or otherwise announce it to all parties registered to observe or participate in the said auction.

If authorized by the Board, the National Museum may either participate and bid for an item in its own right, or opt, within a period of seven (7) days, to match the highest bid made for the item by invoking, by means of a written notice addressed to the management of the public auction, a right of first refusal that is hereby established by virtue of this Act.

The invoice issued to the National Museum by the management of the public auction, which shall include the relevant commissions, fees, charges, taxes and other associated expenses in addition to the bid price for the item, together with the pertinent resolution of the Board and a certification issued by the Head of Agency similar in purpose to that outlined in Section 22(b) of this Act, followed by the procedure likewise given in Section 22(e), (f), (g) and (h) shall be considered sufficient for the procurement of an item under this section.

Violations by the management of the public auction of this right of first refusal granted herein to the National Museum, which demonstrably resulted in the failure of the National Museum to acquire the concerned item on behalf of the National Government, shall be subject to a fine equal to the highest bid made for the said item, payable to the National Treasury through the National Museum, by the management of the public auction, as well as the filing of charges by the National Museum against the management of the public auction in the appropriate court of law, seeking the application of other legal penalties as provided by existing laws.