MANILA, Philippines —The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Thursday that it had awarded the contract for the vote counting machines for the 2025 midterm elections to the joint venture of South Korean firm Miru Systems.
Miru Systems was the lone bidder for the Lease of a Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC).
“Via a unanimous vote in its regular session on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, the Commission on Elections, sitting en banc, had approved the recommendation of the Special Bids and Awards Committee to award to the joint venture – Miru Systems Co. Ltd., Integrated Computer Systems, St. Timothy Construction Corporation, and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies, Inc. the contract for the procurement project FASTrAC for the 2025 National and Local Elections,” the poll body said in a statement dated February 22.
The P18.8 billion contract includes the lease of 110,000 automated counting machines, 104,345 ballot boxes, and 2,200 consolidated canvassing system servers/laptops and printers.
The deal also includes over 73,000 ballot papers, printing, and verification.
A notice of award has already been issued to Miru Systems on Thursday, the Comelec said.
It added that pursuant to Republic Act 9184, a contract negotiation and contract signing shall ensue to be followed by a notice to proceed.
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Lawmakers and experts earlier aired concern over the poll body’s possible awarding of the contract to Miru Systems.
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They cited the South Korean firm’s alleged involvement in technological glitches in recent election deployments.
READ: Concerns raised over lone bidder for 2025 vote counting machines