First bidding for P131-M Comelec support center fails

MANILA, Philippines - The first bidding for the P131-million Commission on Elections (Comelec) National Support Center (NSC) was declared a failure yesterday.

Four companies had expressed interest to bid by buying the bidding documents, but only Sterling Global Center managed to submit its bid offer on time.

Helen Aguila-Flores, Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) head, said Smartmatic International Corp. was disqualified for coming in late for the bidding.

On the other hand, Sterling was declared “ineligible” after failing to meet the requirements during the screening procedure, she added.

Smartmatic and Sterling have filed motions for reconsideration, but they have to submit new offers when SBAC holds the second bidding for NSC, which will serve as the command center of the Comelec in the 2013 polls.

In case the second bidding fails, SBAC would study its options and recommend them to the Comelec for approval, Flores said.

Meanwhile, the Comelec welcomed yesterday the P4.14-billion additional budget from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the 2013 polls.

Of this amount, P100.9 million will be allocated for overseas absentee voting.

Commissioner Lucenito Tagle, committee on absentee voting head, said the amount will be used to train embassy officials and personnel and to pay the honorarium of Special Board of Inspectors to administer the May 13 polls.

“We actually requested for P200 million,” he said. “Maybe we can just request for more budget.”

The Comelec could also utilize the budget to expand automated polls from two to seven areas in five countries in the coming polls, Tagle said.

In 2010, the Comelec had automated the elections only in Hong Kong and Singapore.

For this year, the poll body had included Kuwait; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; and Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Absentee voters in Hong Kong number 101,483; 36,323 in Singapore, 21,418 in Abu Dhabi, 42,454 in Jeddah, 28,458 in Kuwait, 30,513 in Dubai, and 62,509 in Riyadh, Comelec records showed.