Mega Pacific closes shop; where is P1-B?

Demanding the return of money paid for a botched government contract is one thing; finding the company to demand it from is another.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) said Mega Pacific eSolutions, which supplied the automated counting machines (ACMs) that were supposed to be used in the May 10 elections, could no longer be reached in its given address, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Education and Information Division chief Ferdinand Rafanan.

The OSG has sent a demand letter for a P1.03-billion refund to the incorporators and present directors of the company instead.

"The problem with demanding from the incorporators and the directors is that they have limited liability based on their subscription in the company," Rafanan said.

The Supreme Court (SC) earlier voted to rescind the P1.3-billion deal between the Comelec and Mega Pacific, citing flaws in the computerization contract and the ACMs themselves. The SC also ordered the poll body to recover P850 million already paid to the company.

But, according to Rafanan, the OSG recently found that the P850 million figure was inaccurate and increased the amount to be collected from Mega Pacific to P1.03 billion.

The Comelec was supposed to pay Mega Pacific on a staggered basis as each stage of the computerization project was completed. Mega Pacific delivered all 1,991 ACMs before the contract was rescinded, but has not yet supplied the technical manpower to run the machines.

Mega Pacific lawyer Alfredo Lazaro said they are considering legal action to avoid refunding the money, saying they performed their end of the deal in good faith and should not be made to suffer financially.

He said the machines could not be returned as they are no longer considered new, having been subjected to harsh tests by the poll body.

Lazaro theorized that the OSG may have sent the demand letter to the wrong address, as he and his clients are ready to respond.

Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos earlier told The STAR that they are no longer interested in the poll automation issue.

Several groups had threatened to file contempt charges against the Comelec when it announced plans to use the ACMs despite the adverse SC ruling.

Among the controversial plans was a scheme to have the ACMs leased back "free of charge" and use some of the machines in the "selective automation" of areas like Metro Manila and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

SC spokesman Ismael Khan had said that the court was not against all plans to "automate or computerize" the electoral system but will take action if "there is a violation" of its ruling.

Malacañang has apparently also washed its hands of the controversy.

"This is something for the Comelec to decide. They have to work out some things that would not contravene the decision of the Supreme Court on the matter," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

"So whatever is allowed by law and whatever will facilitate the conduct of the election, especially the counting, I think that should be welcomed," he added.