Comelec reconsiders; four firms may bid

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said last night that four of seven disqualified companies are deemed eligible to bid in the P11.3-billion automation contract.

The Comelec, in a consolidated resolution, granted the motions for reconsideration (MR) of bidders Indira, Smartmatic, AMA and Gilat for a chance to bid in the automation project.

The motions of the three other bidders were denied. But the three – Avante, Sequoia and Syrex – can still file an appeal with the Comelec.

The poll body said this was just the initial phase of the eligibility requirement and all qualifiers still have to pass the technical and financial requirements.

“In their MR, the bidders presented old and new arguments and even advanced new dimensions involving international business practices, technological terms and legal deficiencies,” the Comelec said in its Omnibus Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) Resolution 09-001.

The Comelec last week disqualified all seven bidders for the automation contract, but said they would reconsider their bids.

The SBAC required that all the participating firms should submit an ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certification even if this does not apply to some of the bidders. Majority of the bidders failed on the eligibility screening for failure to submit their ISO certification. Some of them submitted the ISO certification of their subsidiaries.

Meanwhile, Malacañang reiterated that it would leave it up to the Commission on Elections to work out the implementation of the law on automated polls next year but expressed openness to the conduct of partial automation as a last resort.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that there is no reason for the Palace to influence the Comelec on its decisions considering that it has the mandate to ensure the conduct of honest and peaceful elections in the country.

“We do not have to influence the Comelec at this moment by making a statement,” Ermita said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been pushing for the full automation of the electoral process and emphasized her stand on the issue by immediately signing the automated election system bill passed by Congress as soon as it reached her office.

However, with little time left to prepare for full automation and with the Comelec having problems with the bidding of the equipment needed, there is a strong possibility that the country would have to settle for partial automation.

Ermita admitted that the Palace could be flexible on its position on full automation in light of the situation faced by the Comelec.

“We have to go through an exercise in case the bidding happens to be ok or it does not happen to be ok. At least we know that the Comelec has a ‘plan b’ so that our elections in 2010 will be okay,” Ermita said.

“We cannot disagree to that. But of course the conduct of the elections is the baby of the Comelec so we just have to go with it (their decision),” he added. With Marvin Sy