Account for P1 B paid to Mega, Comelec told

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has to account for the P1.03 billion it paid for the botched contract with Mega Pacific eSolutions Inc. (MPEI) for the planned automation of the May 10 elections, President Arroyo said yesterday.

Mrs. Arroyo said the Comelec should initiate liquidation procedures to recover the amount it paid to MPEI after the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) reported difficulty in locating the firm that supplied the automated counting machines (ACMs) for what could have been the country’s first automated elections.

However, the MPEI, through its lawyer Alfredo Lazaro, said reports that it had closed shop were "apparently planned to discredit the company and could be part of a black propaganda campaign."

Lazaro denied reports the company had closed shop to evade responsibility.

"I even brought television news groups to MPEI’s office in Tektite (Towers on Ortigas, Pasig City) yesterday afternoon," he said.

Lazaro announced they have received the demand letter from the OSG, contrary to reports that the firm cannot be located, and that the company is "preparing (its) reply."

Mrs. Arroyo said there are procedures on how the government can recover the amount paid to MPEI despite reports it had closed shop.

She stressed that the money paid by the Comelec to the firm constituted public funds, which require full accounting and auditing by the government.

"These things are what you call procedures of the government, like liquidation procedures, and there are accountabilities that will be made. So there are procedures for that," Mrs. Arroyo told reporters at a news conference at the Carigara town hall in Leyte during a campaign sortie.

The Supreme Court earlier declared the P1.3-billion ACM contract between the Comelec and MPEI as null and void due to the irregular bidding process.

In its Jan. 13 ruling, the high court also declared that the 1,991 ACMs supplied by MPEI were susceptible to fraud.

The OSG claimed MPEI could no longer be reached in its given address, according to Comelec Education and Information Division chief Ferdinand Rafanan.

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

Rafanan said the OSG recently found that the P850 million figure earlier reported to have been paid by Comelec was inaccurate and increased the amount to be collected from MPEI to P1.03 billion.

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

Mrs. Arroyo said there are many options left for the government to recover the money.

Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos also said the reported closure of Mega Pacific is no cause for worry.

He also dismissed the impression that MPEI is a fly-by-night company, assuring the people that it will still be possible to demand an obligation from the firm.

"The issue is not whether the office has been vacated or not. The issue is whether the communication (demand letter) has been received, Mega Pacific has been clear on that," he said.

Abalos said Lazaro confirmed to him the receipt of the demand letter from the OSG.

The President instructed the OSG yesterday to exhaust "all legal means" to ensure the refund of the money from the contractor, short of stating the government will initiate all legal actions to force MPEI to refund the money.

"The Solicitor General must undertake all legal means to recover the huge sum of money that was already paid for the aborted poll automation. We must fully implement the high court’s ruling and uphold the rule of law," she said.

But MPEI, through Lazaro, stated any demand for a refund may be "offline."

Lazaro said the government should do its end of the bargain by returning all the 1,991 ACMs in its original state.

"The problem is since the government is not capable of restoring the machines in (their) virgin state, the demand for a refund is offline," he said.

"We are not at fault," Lazaro said. "We performed our end of the deal in good faith and delivered the machines custom-made based on Comelec specifications. Hence we should not be made to suffer financially."

Lazaro stressed the government, if it wants a refund, should take note that the machines should be returned in their original state. - With Jose Aravilla