Only one group left to challenge leading poll automation bidder

MANILA, Philippines - And then there were two.

Only one group remains to challenge leading bidder Smartmatic and Total Information Management Corp. for the automation project of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The Comelec’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) slammed the door yesterday on the consortium of Indra Sistemas, Strategic Alliance Holdings Inc. and Hart Intercivic, leaving the consortium of AMA Group of Companies and Election System and Software as the only competitor of the Smartmatic group.

In Resolution 09-005, the SBAC denied the motion for reconsideration of Indra group “for offering partial bids in violation of clause 3, 15, Part IX-B of the Request for Proposal.”

“This motion, by its arguments, is unique and unprecedented in the history of Philippine procurement where the bidder appears to dictate to the procuring agency the quantity of goods the latter needs and their allocations. For said reason, the SBAC hereby denies the motion outright,” the resolution states.

Indra’s bid offer for the P11.3-billion automation contract was P11.2 billion, but it could only supply 50,000 of the required 80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

Earlier, the SBAC had disqualified the AMA consortium for failing to submit certificates of acceptance on its previous automation contracts with the States of Michigan and Minnesota, United States.

But AMA lodged a motion for reconsideration that is still being deliberated on by the committee.

The Smartmatic group, with a bid offer of P7.2 billion, had already hurdled the eligibility, technical and financial screenings of SBAC.

If the SBAC denies the motion of AMA, Smartmatic will be asked to demonstrate its PCOS machines before the committee.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said the poll body would “not settle for less” just to have a winning bidder and avoid a failure of bidding.

Jimenez added that SBAC would strictly scrutinize machines against 26 qualifying criteria to ensure its accuracy, security and reserve power, among others.

PPCRV, PCS sign accord

Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the Philippine Computer Society (PCS) signed a memorandum of agreement to formulate a new system of monitoring next year’s planne polls.

Dubbed “Katibayan 2010,” the memorandum aims to “pave the way for an effective information dissemination and monitoring of the planned automated elections in May 2010.”

Incoming PCS president Nelson Celis said the accord intends to “ensure clean, honest and orderly automated elections by having a transparent and efficient electoral system.”

“This partnership with the PPCRV aims to inform the public of the developments surrounding the May 2010 elections. This will also lead to the development of a new infrastructure that will allow PCS and the PPCRV to determine the accuracy of the tabulation of votes during Election Day,” Celis said.

Around 5,000 junior PCS volunteers, composed of information technology students, will help train people as the country engages in a new election system.

The PCS is the country’s premier and largest organization of information and communications technology (ICT) professionals in the country, while the PPCRC has almost one million volunteers to serve as poll watchers. 

The PPCRC will coordinate with PCS volunteers for an up-to-date and accurate transmission of election data.

PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa said the results of the PPCRV and PCS “count are very important.”

“The MOA will ensure that we will have a means to verify whether the results of the Commission on Elections tally will be the same with that of our count. It also puts us in touch with the rest of the country,” she added. — Sheila Crisostomo