Section 32Sec./Art. 32

Administrative, Civil, and Penal Sanctions. - Without prejudice to the provisions of Republic Act No. 3019, otherwise known as the "Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act:", and other penal laws, any person, whether private individual or public officer or employee, who commits any of the prohibited acts under (a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (k), (l), (m), (n), and (o) of this section, shall be punished by imprisonment from a minimum of three (3) years to a maximum of six (6) years and a fine ranging from One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) to Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00). For prohibited acts under (b), (h), (i), and (j) of this section, the penalty of imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years or a fine ranging from One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) to Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00), or both, shall be imposed.

(a) Downgrading the category of the Project Cost for purposes of evading the required approvals under this Code;

(b) Submitting of any false information or falsified documents, or concealing any information at any stage of a PPP Project by a Private Proponent or Private Partner that may affect their eligibility or is otherwise required by the PPP contract or the law;

(c) Falsifying or inserting provisions in the execution copy of the PPP contract which are materially and substantially different from the approved final draft contract;

(d) Violating Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 19, 20, 29, 30(b), and 30(c) under this Code;

(e) In case of public officers or employees, whether in connivance with others or acting alone, with gross negligence or by fraud, failing to exercise the required due diligence and/or to ensure compliance with the PTCs as approved by the Approving Body, and the signed PPP contract, by approving, issuing, or confirming any certification, required documents, or deliverables of the Private Partner and the Private Proponent, which are non-compliant with existing rules, erroneous, not authentic, or fraudulent;

(f) In case of public officer/s acting as the approving authority or member of the Approving Body, knowingly or with gross negligence, approving any PPP contract that is contrary to law or manifestly and grossly disadavantageous to the government and the public, whether or not the public officer/s is/are signatory/ies to the PPP contract;

(g) Neglecting or refusing to act upon an Unsolicited Proposal within the prescribed period, insofar as determining completion and conducting detailed evaluation of the Unsolicited Proposal and the qualifications of the Private Proponent are concerned;

(h) Opening any proposal or any sealed bid including any and all documents required to be sealed or divulging their contents, prior to the appointed time for their public opening;

(i) Unduly influencing or exerting undue pressure on any member, officer, or employee of the Approving Body or Implementing Agency to take a particular action with the intent to, or tends to favor a particular Private Proponent or Private Partner;

(j) Performing any act which restricts transparency or tend to restrain the natural rivalry of parties or operates to stifle or suppress competition in the PPP process;

(k) In case of two (2) or more Private Proponents agreeing and submitting different bids as if bonafide, with the knowledge that such will not be accepted, and that the PPP Contract will be awarded to the pre-arranged most responsive bid;

(l) In case of a Private Proponent, maliciously submitting different bids through two (2) or more persons corporations, partnerships, or any other business entity in which they have interest in to create the appearance of competition that does not in fact exist so as to be adjudged as the winning Private Proponent;

(m) In case of two (2) or more Private Proponents or prospective Private Proponents, entering into an agreement which call upon one to refrain from bidding or participating in a PPP Project, or which call for withdrawal of bids already submitted, or which are otherwise intended to secure as undue advantage to any one of them;

(n) Participating in a public bidding using the name of another or allow another to use one's name for the purpose of participating in a public bidding; and

(o) Withdrawing a bid, after it shall have been declared the winner, or refusing award, without just cause for the purpose of forcing the Implementing Agency to award the PPP contract to another bidder. This shall include the non-submission of requirements such as, but not limited to, performance security, preparatory to the final award of the contract.

In addition, such acts committed by the Private Partner and its concerned officers may cause the termination of the PPP contract, the lapse of any applicable warranty period, and the perpetual disqualification of the Private Partner from participating in any public bidding or entering into any contractual arrangement allowed in this Code. This is without prejudice to any other civil or administrative liability that erring officials, Private Proponents, or Private Partners may incur.

The liability of the public officer or employee or former public officer or employee for any violation of the prohibitions under this Code shall survive the retirement, resignation, expiration of term, or removal from office of said public officer or employee, and shall include the prohibition for the erring officer to hold public office, either as an elected, or an appointed government official to any local or national position, regard to any activity provided or authorized in this Code, the termination of the PPP contract, and the lapse of any applicable warranty period/s.

No administrative, criminal, or civil proceedings shall lie against any person for having committed acts under items (a) to (o) in the regular performance of his duties in good faith.