Abalos insists printing deal legal

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos said yesterday there was nothing illegal in the P78-million printing contract between the poll body and the firm Multi-Forms.

"I do not see anything wrong in the contract because we do not deal with individual stockholders, we deal with the incorporators," he said.

"They’re saying delicadeza is again a victim here. What has delicadeza got to do with this deal? The Comelec never committed any impropriety."

Abalos issued the statement after Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. questioned the Comelec’s decision to award the P78-million printing deal to Multi-Forms Corp., whose incorporators Johnson Fong and son Bernardo have ties with the Mega Pacific eSolutions Inc.

Mega Pacific was behind the P1.3-billion deal to supply the Comelec with automated counting machines (ACMs).

The Supreme Court voided the contract due to anomalous bidding.

Pimentel said the Comelec should have blacklisted the incorporators from bidding for its contracts since they failed to give back the money paid for ACMs.

However, Abalos said Pimentel’s criticisms against the Comelec were unreasonable.

"It seems they would do anything just to say something bad about the Comelec," he said. — Mayen Jaymalin