MANILA, Philippines -- The president of the Total Information Management Corp. (TIM), whose withdrawal from its partnership with the Dutch firm Smartmatic International jeopardized the country?s first poll automation in 2010, has denied demanding P500 million from its former partner.

Jose Mari Antuñez, president of TIM, had just emerged from a meeting with officials of the Commission on Elections, when he made the denial in a chance interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) on Tuesday.

"Of course not," Antuñez said when asked if reports of its P500-million demand were true.

Asked what were the reasons for its withdrawal from the partnership, Antuñez said "We can?t say anything. There is a gag order from Comelec chairman (Jose) Melo."

Antuñez and other TIM officials met with the Comelec commissioners on Tuesday to explain why they suddenly withdrew from their partnership with Smartmatic for the P7.2-billion election automation project for 2010.

The Comelec, which declared the Smartmatic-TIM partnership winner of the bidding for the contract, was negotiating on the final draft of the deal and was asking for the official incorporation papers of the partnership when TIM withdrew.

Melo had threatened to sue TIM for its withdrawal, which put in doubt the country?s first-ever election automation, which was supposed to use machines and computers that would scan the votes and count them, making available the results of the national and local elections within days, if not 24 hours.