MANILA, Philippines -- The two technology firms who won the bidding for the 2010 election automation contract have ironed out their differences and agreed to be "on board" the project, three sources privy to the negotiations said.
Officials of Dutch firm Smartmatic International and Filipino firm Total Information Management (TIM) were at the office of Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo on Friday to report on the outcome of their discussions.
The sources said the two companies have come to an agreement but no papers have been signed yet.
As of 1:30 p.m, Smartmatic and TIM executives were in consultation with the Comelec en banc.
Earlier this week, TIM said it was pulling out of its partnership with Smartmatic, putting the 2010 election automation in peril.
