5 firms pass eligibility to bid for 2004 automated polls

Five companies including those previously among the consortium of Photokina Marketing Corp. which was supposed to undertake the aborted Voters Registration and Information System (VRIS) project, have passed the qualification standards to bid for the machines that will be used to automate the elections next year.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) identified the five companies as Sagem, Unisys, Mega Pacific, Total Information Management (TIM) and Philippine Multi-Media Systems Inc. (PMMSI).

Two companies were selected the most eligible for each aspect of the poll automation. Sagem and Unisys will bid for the validating machines; TIM will bid for the counting machines; and PMMSI will bid for the electronic transmission. Mega Pacific, meanwhile, will bid for the second and third aspect of the poll automation that is the counting machines and electronic transmission.

Comelec Finance Services chief and Bids and Awards Committee head Director Eduardo Mejos said the five companies were chosen based on criteria that consist mostly of normal documentary requirements. These documents include the firm’s registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), appropriate business permits, audited financial report, track record and company profile to determine their capacity and capability to undertake such project.

According to him, of the 55 companies who availed of bid documents and terms of references for the bidding of the machines, only about a dozen returned the bid documents to formally and actually join the bidding.

Currently, the BAC is evaluating the technical capability of the five companies after concluding its evaluation on their eligibility to participate in the bidding process. – Katherine Adraneda