Paper firm wins voter-receipt deal

THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) bids and awards committee (BAC) has declared a local paper manufacturing company the winner of the bidding to supply 1.1-million rolls of thermal paper for voter receipts on election day.

Forms International Enterprises Corp., based in Quezon City, submitted a bid of P49.5 million, way below the Comelec’s P85.8-million budget for the project.

The local firm beat out Smartmatic-TIM, the supplier of the vote-counting machines that will use the paper, which entered a bid of P83.6 million.

“It will now go through a post-qualification assessment,” Comelec BAC vice chair Rey Doma said in an interview.

If the company passes the check and is issued a notice to proceed, Doma said the firm would be required to complete delivery of all 1.1-million thermal rolls by April 29.

The Comelec, meanwhile, is looking at including making senseless or petty claims and complaints on Election Day as an election offense.

“One of the things that we placed in the draft supplemental General Instructions is that making a frivolous objection shall be an election offense. So there will be two election offenses—if you take your receipt out of the polling precinct and if you file a frivolous objection,” said Comelec Chair Andres Bautista in an interview.

He said this was aimed at minimizing frivolous claims that may be made without basis.

“There might be some people who would make it appear that they have valid claims or complaints, but are actually trying to cast doubt on the credibility of the elections,” Bautista said.

He said that, for instance, voters could claim that their voter receipts showed a different set of candidates from those they actually voted for.

Bautista said the Omnibus Election Code makes it unlawful for an individual to sow confusion in the voting process.

Section 261 of the code prohibits a person who, for the purpose of disrupting or obstructing the election process or causing confusion among voters, propagates false and alarming reports or information regarding any matter relating to the general conduct of the election.

Earlier, the Comelec said it considered taking a voter receipt out of a precinct instead of dropping it in the designated receptacle an election offense.

An election offense carries the penalty of one to six years of imprisonment, loss of the right to vote and disqualification from holding public office.