Bidders warned: No collusion

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) warned bidders yesterday against colluding with each other to win the P11.3-billion contract for poll automation.

Lawyer Ferdinand Rafanan, Comelec special bids and awards committee (SBAC) head, said bidders are not supposed to know each other’s offers.

“If they agreed to let the other win since the losing bidder will be contracted by the winning bidder, that is collusion. That is not allowed. They are supposed to compete with each other,” he said.

Such bidders would not only face imprisonment but could also be blacklisted and prevented from joining other bidding processes, he added.

Rafanan said SBAC would also not accept the offer of any bidder that has incorporators, stockholders or officials related up to the fourth degree of consanguinity to sitting elective officials.

“All of them declared that they don’t have controlling stockholders, officers or incorporators that are related to incumbent elective officials. We are verifying that,” he said.

Yesterday, SBAC accepted the P7.2-billion bid offer of the consortium of Smartmatic of the Netherlands and Total Information Management Corp. of the Philippines, and directed the group to bring its PCOS machine before the committee today “in preparation for possible demonstration.”

The SBAC also yesterday disqualified the P11.2-billion offer of Indra Sistemas of Spain, Strategic Alliance Holdings Inc. of the Philippines and Hart Intercivic of the United States after finding out that it could supply only 50,000 of the required 80,000 PCOS machines.

SVAC vice chair Adolfo Ibanez said, “The process is not yet complete. The process still has a lot of contests along the way.”

The bidder with the “lowest calculated bid” will have to demonstrate its PCOS machines for strict scrutiny of the SBAC.

Rafanan said that the Comelec is looking for almost-perfect voting and counting machines with a 99.995 accuracy rate.

“That means that for every 20,000 marks (votes), there can only be one or less than one error,” he said. 

“If more than that, we won’t accept the machine. We are looking for machines that are that accurate. Our standards are very high.”

In bidding out the automation project, the Comelec also bans bidders from sub-contracting to another firm the supply of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

However, if the memorandum of agreement covering such subcontracting had been declared before SBAC during bidding process, the committee might reconsider.

Seven consortiums have submitted their bids for the contract but only three of them have reached the financial stage of the bidding process. 

The others failed in the eligibility and technical requirements but their disqualifications are the subject of motions for reconsideration pending before the SBAC.   

The Comelec will place one precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine in each of the 80,000 clustered poll precincts nationwide.

Comelec bans transfer of diplomats

Filipino diplomats cannot be “transferred, promoted, extended, recalled or otherwise moved from (their) current post(s) or position(s)” until Aug. 8 next year.

The order of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) took effect last May 10.

In Resolution No. 8599, the Comelec said diplomats would be “involved in the conduct of voting, counting and canvassing of votes,” so they should remain in their posts for the meantime.

The poll body issued the resolution in line with Republic Act 9189 or the Overseas Absentee Voting Law of 2003.

“No movement of any member of the foreign service corps shall be made unless the same is approved by the Commission on Elections through the Chairman of the Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting,” read the resolution.

The request for the movement of diplomats must be in made writing by the “authorized officials of concerned agencies, stating the cause or reason, ” according to the Comelec.

During national elections, the poll body relies on the Department of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the registration of overseas absentee voters and enable them to cast their votes on election day.

Poll precincts are usually set up in Philippine embassies and consular offices.

‘Extend registration’

A party-list representative has called on the Comelec to extend the voter’s registration period to allow first time voters to participate in next year’s polls.

Kabataan Rep. Raymond Palatino has filed a resolution in the House of Representatives urging the Comelec to reset the voter’s registration deadline from Oct. 31 to Dec. 15.

“Seventy-five percent of young Filipinos were unable to register and vote in the 2007 elections due to the short period allotted for voters’ registration and the lack of a massive nationwide campaign for voters’ registration,” he said.

Palatino said the October deadline will disenfranchise more than three million young voters in the 2010 polls.

“Extending the deadline for voters’ registration would improve the chances of more young Filipinos exercising their right to vote,” he said.

“Poll automation need not hamper voters’ registration and Comelec should not pit one against the other.”