Cayetano wants probe on indelible ink for 2013 polls

MANILA, Philippines - Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano expressed concern yesterday over the deal entered into by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) with a private supplier of indelible ink to be used in next year’s elections.

Cayetano said he is holding on to the promise of Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. that he will look into the disparity in the bidding price.

Comelec has awarded the contract to ASA Color and Chemical Industries Corp. for the provision of 21,458 bottles of indelible ink for P140.88 each for the general registration of voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The total contract price is P3.023 million.

However, based on the company’s website, a bottle of indelible ink costs only about $1.

The Comelec is procuring 72,000 bottles of indelible ink for next year’s elections.

“They said they will look into it. For me, whether it is overpriced or just an error, the system is faulty because you can clearly see the difference. On the website it’s $1 but in the bidding, P140,” Cayetano said.