‘Print contract aboveboard’

Malacañang disputed yesterday the Newsbreak report that the government tapped the services of a printing firm allegedly involved in the production of fake election returns (ERs) in the 2004 presidential election, saying the magazine got its facts wrong.

Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio and Philip Evardone, who is on leave as National Printing Office (NPO) director, in separate interviews said they have not heard of any case or complaint having been filed against Grand C Graphics, the firm reportedly tapped by the NPO to help in the printing of election forms.

Evardone said it was Ernest Printing that was the subject of the complaint in 2004.

An investigation following Ernest Printing’s "bungling" of its printing of ERs in 2004, showed that the printing firm did not have the necessary equipment for the job and subcontracted the task to other printers.

"That’s why there were ERs that were rejected," he said. "We were not aware of any charges against Grand C. Ernest Printing was reportedly the one accused of printing illegal ERs."

The opposition said it will question the move of the NPO to subcontract the printing of election forms in the coming May elections to a single printing company without public bidding.

Commission on Elections Commissioner Resurreccion Borra clarified the NPO, which is tasked to print official ballots, election paraphernalia and other accountable forms, was authorized to lease printing machines to increase their capability to finish the production in time for the May 14 polls.

Borra explained that under the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Comelec and the NPO, the agency is not allowed to sub-contract the printing of election paraphernalia, but is authorized to lease machines that would be placed inside its facilities.

This allows for the monitoring of the entire process by the Comelec and representatives of all political parties that are participating in the coming political exercise.

Borra said under the law, the NPO and the Central Bank are the two agencies that are allowed to print such election documents. But he said the Central Bank wrote the Comelec to say that they could not handle the printing process because they could not allow outsiders such as party representatives within its premises.

Because of that, the NPO took full responsibility for printing the election documents such as election returns, certificates of canvass, official ballots and other accountable forms.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, whose office has supervision over the NPO, earlier promised to answer the allegations in the Newsbreak article but as of press time, he has not issued any statement.

Canvass made

Evardone, who went on leave after his brother, Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, was named media campaign head of the administration’s Team Unity senatorial ticket, said the contract to lease printing machines was given to Grand C Graphics following a "canvass" from at least four machine dealers and printers.

"Grand C offered the lowest package of P59.678 million for the machines and operators for all kinds of Comelec (Commission on Elections) forms. In 2004, the Comelec paid P85 million to Ernest Printing only for the printing of ERs," Evardone said.

He said the contract actually resulted in P25 million in savings for the government. He said Grand C has the technical capability and expertise for printing sensitive materials.

He stressed the NPO only rented machines and operators and that all printing is being done inside the facility. Security is very tight and not all NPO employees are allowed to enter the printing area.

"No ballots or election returns will be printed outside the NPO. The printing of all election forms in the NPO is under the strict 24-hour supervision of Comelec and representatives of political parties," he said.

"Besides, unionism is rife in NPO so every movement is watched," he said.

Officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) also categorically denied the allegations.

"It is irresponsible of the author to say the least and even libelous that he would go as far as besmirch the corporation’s good reputation for the sole purpose of attracting more people to read his article," Pagcor spokesman Dodie King told The STAR.

He described as baseless the statement that Grand C Graphics is a favored printer of Pagcor chairman Efraim Genuino.

"We feel that our inclusion in this article is merely used as additional seasoning but not really organic to his story. Furthermore, none of his statements are backed by solid facts," he added.

No complaints

Claudio said the best way to prevent irregularities is to file cases against the perpetrators of the alleged anomaly.

"Speaking in general terms, since I’m not fully aware of the details, if the allegations (printing of ERs) are serious as it sounds, then some complainants should have filed cases before," Claudio said. "If there are no complainants, what will prohibit that printing firm from participating in any bidding, assuming there was a bidding."

"If there are such complaints then let the accountable officials answer for them," he said.

Former oppositionist now running under the administration banner, Vicente Sotto III disclosed his camp raised the same issues before.

"I do not want to be the apologist for (Comelec chairman) Ben Abalos but at that time, there was no anomaly found," Sotto said.

"If it’s the same situation as the situation before, there were explanations that were accepted then by the opposition. Everything was justified and made clear to the opposition so we shut up," Sotto said.

Sotto said their main concern in 2004 was the overprinting of ERs, which could be used by the administration to cheat.

"So we checked the records and found that there was really this overprinting. It was the same in 2001, 1998, 1995 and 1992. They always print reserves, only a certain percentage in case of loss or damage," Sotto said.

"If there were legal hitches, you expect us to keep quiet?" Sotto said.

Scrap the deal

Meantime, the Genuine Opposition (GO) urged the Comelec to scrap

its contract with a Caloocan City-based printer believed to have produced fake election returns that were used in the May 2004 presidential election.

Election lawyer Sixto Brillantes, also counsel for GO senatorial bet Loren Legarda, said he will formally ask the Comelec to explain why and how the Grand C Printing was awarded the P198-million job for all election forms for the coming elections.

"Why did the NPO contract it without public bidding?" Brillantes told The STAR in an interview.

He said the Comelec should answer this since it was the one who entered into a memorandum of agreement with the NPO.

Legarda, a vice-presidential candidate in 2004, said the Comelec and NPO should be careful in striking deals with printing companies particularly those with questionable reputations.

"They should not be allowed… No less than the printer of election returns should be handled by the Comelec," she said. Legarda filed an election protest over the results of the 2004 elections.

"We have heard of this anomaly, and our lawyers in the opposition are looking into it and will file the necessary charges," said House Minority Leader Francis Escudero.

Tarlac Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said they are left with no choice but to rescind the contract. "The credibility of the Arroyo government, which is already under scrutiny for persistent charges of extrajudicial killings and corruption, and for electoral fraud in 2004, will suffer irreparable damage if the May elections will be marred again by fraud and organized cheating," he said. – withJames Mananghaya, Aurea Calica, Christina Mendez, Helen Flores, Jess Diaz