Short answer. Generally no. Civil Code Article 1326 treats advertisements for bids as mere invitations to make proposals, not as offers. The advertiser is not bound to accept the highest or lowest bidder unless the advertisement itself says otherwise. Your bid is an offer, not a contract.
What the law says
Advertisements for bidders are simply invitations to make proposals, and the advertiser is not bound to accept the highest or lowest bidder, unless the contrary appears.
Civil Code, Article 1326 — Advertisements for Bidders. Read the full provision →
Why a bid call is not an offer
In contract law, a binding agreement requires an offer and an acceptance. Article 1326 settles a common misunderstanding: an advertisement for bids is not an offer waiting to be accepted. It is an invitation — a call for others to come forward and make their own proposals. The advertiser has not committed to anything by publishing the bid call. When you submit a bid, you are the one making an offer. The advertiser then decides whether to accept or reject it. The rule is: Advertisements for bidders are simply invitations to make proposals, and the advertiser is not bound to accept the highest or lowest bidder, unless the contrary appears.
The exception: when the advertisement itself binds
Article 1326 includes an important qualification — unless the contrary appears. If the advertisement expressly commits the advertiser to awarding the contract to the best qualifying bid, or if applicable rules (such as procurement regulations for government projects) require mandatory acceptance of a compliant bid, the situation changes. In those cases, the language of the advertisement or the applicable legal framework can itself create an obligation to award. Whether such a commitment was actually made depends on the specific wording of the bid documents and the legal rules governing that type of bidding.
Government procurement is governed by separate rules
It is worth noting that public procurement by government agencies is subject to dedicated legislation that imposes specific procedures and obligations on procuring entities. Those rules can restrict the government's discretion to reject bids or to award outside the normal ranking. The civil law principle in Article 1326 reflects the general default for private biddings. If the bidding you participated in involved a government agency, the question of whether acceptance was required is governed by those procurement rules, not solely by the Civil Code provision.
What happens after rejection
If the advertiser rejects your bid — even the best one — you generally have no contract to enforce under the general rule of Article 1326. No contract exists until the advertiser accepts a bid, either expressly or by an act that unmistakably signals acceptance. This means that preparing and submitting a bid, and the costs incurred in doing so, are ordinarily undertaken at your own risk. If you believe the rejection was in bad faith or violated specific terms the advertiser was bound by, the nature of that claim depends on whether a separate commitment — beyond the mere bid advertisement — existed and was broken.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- Northern Mindanao Industrial Port and Services Corporation vs. Iligan Cement Corporation, G.R. No. 215387, April 23, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Philippine National Bank vs. Antonio Bacani, et al, G.R. No. 194983, June 20, 2018 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Ce Construction Corporation vs. Araneta Center Inc, G.R. No. 192725, August 9, 2017 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) vs. Nasipit Integrated Arrastre and Stevedoring Services, Inc. (NIASSI), G.R. No. 214864, March 22, 2017 — read the decision on LawPhil →