Only Smartmatic passed eligibility screening – Comelec

MANILA, Philippines - Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corp. is the lone bidder for the contract to supply direct recording electronics (DRE) machines to be used in the 2016 polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said yesterday.

Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairman Helen Aguila-Flores said Smartmatic-TIM had passed “the first stage of the bidding procedures on eligibility.”

“The joint venture of Smartmatic-TIM Corporation is eligible to bid in the second-stage of the competitive bidding for the lease of DRE technology,” she said.

The joint venture of Scytl Secured Electronic Voting and Vibal Group Inc. was found ineligible to supply the machines.

BAC’s decision was based on the assessment of the Technical Working Group (TWG) that Smartmatic-TIM had passed the requirements for Initial Technical Proposal.

However, the 14-member TWG voted 7-7 on Smartmatic-TIM’s Articles of Incorporation.

TWG found that Scytl-Vibal had failed to meet the requirements for Initial Technical Proposal.

The consortium also failed to present its tax clearance while it submitted insufficient documents on their Sworn Statement on Ongoing and Completed Contracts.

Scytl-Vibal could still file a motion for reconsideration with BAC, Flores said.

The Comelec will test some 410 DRE machines in Pateros in May 2016.