2 firms pass Comelec bidding

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to award contracts to two winning bidders for the supply of marking pens and toners to be used in the 2013 polls.

“I am going to issue the Notice of Award. That will be the first that I will sign,” Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said.

Brillantes said the two bidders were declared eligible to bid by the Comelec’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) after submitting the lowest calculated and responsive bid.

These firms passed the legal, financial and technical requirements of the SBAC.

The winning bidders are the joint venture of SPH International Corp. and Advance Paper Corp. which bagged the contract to supply 1.64 million pieces of marking pens, and Optimal System Distribution Inc. which would provide 2,200 units of toners.

Based on the SBAC’s Resolution No. 6, the SPH-Advance offered a bid of P16.68 for each marking pen or a total of P27.35 million.

Optimal, on the other hand, had pegged its bid at P4.444 per toner or a total of P9.776 million.