Internet voting project hits snag – Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections’ internet voting project amounting to P465.8 million suffered a delay due to a motion filed by one of the bidders, Comelec Chairman George Garcia reported yesterday.

Garcia said the poll body may no be able to award the Online Voting and Counting System (OVCS) project to the winning bidder by the end of the month.

He said a motion for reconsideration filed by the joint venture of Voatz Inc., ePLDT Inc. and EBizolution Inc. delayed the public bidding for the project.

The appeal filed with the Special Bid and Awards Committee (SBAC) last week affected the Comelec’s timeline in preparing for the May 2025 midterm elections, according to Garcia.

“It will slightly push back our preparations since the customization will require a synced OVCS, Full Automation System with Transparency Audit and Count (FASTrAC) and Secure Electronic Transmission Services (SETS),” he said.

The Comelec SBAC previously declared the joint venture of SMS Global Technologies Inc. and Sequent Tech Inc. as the lowest calculated bid offer of P112 million.

The joint venture led by Voatz submitted a bid of P435,528,888 and was declared the second lowest bidder.

In March, the joint venture of Miru Systems Co. Ltd Integrated Computer Systems, St. Timothy Construction Corp. and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies Inc. bagged the FASTrAC project.

The Comelec awarded the SETS project to the joint venture of IOne Resources Inc. and Ardent Networks Inc. last month.