Comelec sets new bidding

Comelec office. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has announced a new bidding for a P2.5-billion contract involving the lease of new voting machines for the 2016 elections.

The announcement came after the Comelec denied the motions for reconsideration filed by Smartmatic-TIM and Indra Sistemas S.A., whose disqualification led to the failure of an earlier bidding.

“[The motions for reconsideration] of both Indra Sistemas and Smartmatic-TIM have been denied by the Comelec BAC (Bids and awards committee). [The] BAC reiterated its earlier ruling. Under the rules we now proceed with the second bidding,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a tweet on Saturday.

Apart from the bidding for the P2.5-billion contract for the lease of 23,000 units of optical mark reader machines, the Comelec also announced the second cycle of bidding on a P31.27-million contract for the lease of direct recording electronic technology.

The Comelec said prospective bidders may buy bidding documents starting March 6.

The deadline is March 30 at 9 a.m., after which the opening of bids would be conducted in the Comelec Session Hall at the Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros, Manila.

The contracts budgets remained the same as announced for the first bidding late last year.

Bidders must have completed similar projects within the last six years, successfully using the technology in an election in the Philippines or abroad.

“The bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary pass/fail criterion… Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided [in the implementing rules and regulations of the Government Procurement Reform Act],” the Comelec said in the invitation.

There will be a prebidding conference on March 16 at 10 a.m., for discussion of eligibility requirements and technical and financial aspects, although submission of queries will be limited to those who had already bought bidding documents.

The Comelec emphasized that “bids [lease price plus option to purchase price] received in excess of the approved budget for the contract shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.”