All 7 poll automation bidders disqualified - Comelec

MANILA, Philippines – The seven consortiums bidding for the P11.3-billion poll automation contract have all failed eligibility requirements, but the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the situation is not hopeless.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body could have a “negotiated contract” as a “last recourse” in choosing the provider of the 80,000 automation machines to be used in the 2010 elections.

“We don’t want to entertain that for now, but in extreme situations, negotiated contract could be our last recourse. But we are still hopeful that the bidding will not fail,” he said in a telephone interview.

The Comelec’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) finished reviewing yesterday the eligibility documents of Gilat of Israel and F.F. Cruz and Company Inc. of the Philippines.

But the automation contracts they submitted were not those of the consortium but of Gilat’s subsidiaries.

The SBAC had earlier rejected six other consortium bidders – Avante International of the United States, Canon Marketing Philippines of Japan and Netnode Technologies, DB Vizards and Creative Points, all of the Philippines;

Indira Sistemas of Spain, Strategic Alliance Holdings Inc. of the Philippines and Hart Intercivic of USA; Universal Storefront Services of the Philippines and Sequoia Voting Systems of USA;

Total Information Management Co. of the Philippines and Smartmatic of the Netherlands;

Amalgated Metro Philippines and Syrex Inc., both of the Philippines and Anishin Inc. of Taiwan; and AMA Group of Companies of the Philippines and Election System and Software of USA.

The six consortiums failed to submit various documents such as ISO 9000 Certification, Certification of Appreciation, Certificate of Registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission, and license to import.

But SBAC chairman and Comelec’s Law Department director Ferdinand Rafanan said they expect the seven consortiums to submit their motions for reconsideration.

He said the Comelec en banc and not the SBAC would decide whether the poll body would resort to negotiated contract or manual election next year in case the bidding fails.

Palace trusts Comelec

Malacañang expressed confidence that the Comelec could hurdle the difficulties in bidding out the automation project and prevent the country from reverting to manual polls.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said “the Comelec is an independent body and we trust in the judgment of the commissioners on this issue.”

Comelec chairman Jose Melo said failure in the bidding might result in Comelec reverting to manual elections next year.

The Office of the Ombudsman is keeping an eye on the Comelec’s procurement process for counting machines after all the interested suppliers have been disqualified.

Observing the bidding procedure forms part of the tasks given to the Task Force Poll Automation created by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro heads the task force. – With Paolo Romero, Michael Punongbayan