Comelec urged to rent 71,000 more PCOS units

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) should lease 71,000 more precinct count optical scan (PCOS) units with the failure of the bidding for the refurbishment of its 80,000 PCOS machines.

Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite yesterday said the Comelec now has no option left but to rent 71,000 voting-counting machines, in addition to the 23,000 units it leased last week from Smartmatic-Total Management Information Corp.

“That would bring the number of its automated voting-counting machines to about 94,000, which should be enough for clustered precincts throughout the country,” he said.

During last week’s House hearing on preparations for the May 9, 2016 elections, Barzaga said Comelec officials led by Chairman Andres Bautista told congressmen that if the refurbishment bidding failed, the commission would have no other option but to lease 71,000 more PCOS units it needed.

He added that Bautista and Commissioner Robert Christian Lim estimated that the lease was costlier by “more than P2 billion” than repairing and upgrading the 80,000 machines used in the 2010 and 2013 elections.

“Even if it is more expensive, if they have run out of options, they have to do it. Twenty-three thousand PCOS machines will not be enough,” he stressed.

Barzaga pointed out that the Comelec could still pursue its less costly refurbishment plan by resorting to a simplified mode of procurement allowed under the Procurement Law.

However, he said he doubted whether the poll body still has time for the repair, upgrade and testing of its PCOS machines.

“Definitely, it is easier to manufacture new machines than refurbish the old ones,” he said.

He also said the more PCOS the Comelec has, the better it would be for the 2016 balloting.

“More PCOS means more clustered precincts, fewer people queuing to vote and a faster voting and counting process,” he said.

During last week’s House hearing, Bautista said the Comelec was already behind schedule in its preparations for next year’s elections.

“I hope that we do not encounter further delay,” he said.

Lim said repairing and upgrading the poll body’s 80,000 PCOS would cost P3.1 billion, while leasing 71,000 units in addition to 23,000 would cost P6.3 billion.

He said the budget for the refurbishment contract was initially pegged at P2.1 billion before it was increased to P2.8 billion and then to P3.1 billion because prospective bidders claimed the initial estimates were too low and they did not want to participate in the bidding.

He said in case there was failure of bidding for refurbishment and lease options, the Comelec would resort to negotiating the contract or to direct contracting.

Lim also said between August and February, the Comelec has scheduled various activities, including for the reception of PCOS units, their testing, verification and testing of all software, and a mock election.

After completing all these activities, he said the commission should be ready for the combined presidential-congressional-local elections in May next year. 

The lease of 23,000 PCOS costs about P1.7 billion. If 71,000 additional units are rented from Smartmatic-TIM, this means that the automation service provider would have two lease contracts costing P8 billion.

Smartmatic-TIM was Comelec’s automation contractor in the 2010 and 2013 elections. It was in 2010 that the two parties entered into a lease with option to buy arrangement covering 80,000 PCOS units.

Then Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes told lawmakers that it would be cheaper for the Comelec and taxpayers in the long run to purchase the machines since they would be good for three elections up to the 2016 balloting.