Joint venture qualifies for Comelec bidding for voting machines

Precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine. MATIKAS SANTOS/INQUIRER.net

A joint venture between Storage Solutions Inc. (SSI) and ASA Color and Chemical Industries Inc. (ASA) has qualified to bid for a contract to house thousands of voting machines belonging to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The Comelec’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) said Thursday it had approved the recommendation of the Technical Working Group to allow the joint venture to bid for the contract to store the Comelec’s 81,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

These PCOS machines, currently stored in a warehouse in Cabuyao, Laguna, will be used in next year’s midterm elections.

The joint venture submitted the lowest calculated bid and was the lone eligible bidder, the SBAC said.

According to the committee, the joint venture submitted a bid of P318.8 million.

The joint venture will now be subjected to post-qualification evaluation.

The Comelec said it would verify the joint venture’s financial status and compliance with legal requirements in the next few days.

The joint venture will have three days to submit tax clearance, income and business tax returns, licenses and permits to prove compliance with the laws.

The SBAC is headed by Comelec Deputy Executive Director for Administration Helen G. Aguila-Flores. Kristine L. Alave