MANILA, Philippines?Local systems integrator Questronix has broken its silence over the database crash controversy involving the Government Service Insurance System and computer giant IBM.

Questronix was the systems integrator that won the bid to implement the GSIS?s ILMAAAMS, short for Integrated Loans, Membership, Acquired Assets and Accounts Management System project of the agency. The project, which costs P80 million, involves developing the agency?s database for all its member services.

On June 4, GSIS filed a libel case against Questronix. It earlier filed a breach of contract case against Questronix as well as IBM Corp. and IBM Philippines.

Through an official statement posted in its website (www.questronix.com.ph), Questronix Corp. Chairman and CEO Angelo Balili denied charges that it provided GSIS with a faulty application, stating that it was GSIS that requested them to implement IBM?s DB2 database software.

?Neither IBM nor Questronix prompted the adoption of the DB2 software or proposed its inclusion as part of the project ? GSIS was solely responsible for that,? Balili said.

Balili also stressed that the systems availability of a critical infrastructure, such as the ILMAAAMS, is not the responsibility of the system integrator or the software companies.

The local firm pointed out that the GSIS also failed to invest on a disaster recovery system, which could have saved GSIS from the constant system crashes it experienced
starting April.

Balili also defended IBM, and two other technology firms EMC and SAP, whom he lauded for putting efforts to detect the cause of the ILMAAAMS crash.

He said that despite accusations by the GSIS that repairs were not done on the database infrastructure, Questronix had installed a ?special build? sometime in May to fix the problem.

In earlier interviews, GSIS Legal Counsel Estrella Elamparo said the ?special build? ? a term for a software patch to fix certain problems in software ? were not delivered to them.

Balili also defended Questronix President Alex Aloba stating that he did not make any libelous statements. Instead, Aloba?s statements were made through private reports sent to GSIS explaining the technical issues.

GSIS in its libel case accused Aloba of making statements against GSIS?s alleged failures in maintaining the system. The statements were posted in the May 31 issues of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of Inquirer.net) and the Manila Bulletin.

Balili said that it will demonstrate ?in due time and before the proper forum? why it is not responsible for the database problems faced by GSIS.