Smartmatic-TIM gets 4 of 8 items for midterm polls

MANILA -- At least four of the 13 goods and services for the May 13 midterm elections being bid out by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have been awarded to Smartmatic – Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation.

This was revealed based on the list provided by the Comelec – Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) on the different Lots set for public bidding.

In the list, it showed that the SBAC has already completed the bidding for eight of the 13 Lots while the five others are not.

The transmission services (P405.4 million); transmission modems (P154.5); compact flash (CF) cards main (P46.5 million); and CF cards worm (P46.5 million) were all won by Smartmatic – TIM.

A failed bidder of CF cards, meanwhile, asked the Supreme Court to stop Smartmatic from supplying the CF cards.

LDLA Marketing said the Comelec failed to conduct a fair and open public bidding.

"Had it been otherwise, Petitioner's bid would have been the lowest responsive bid for all items, except for thermal paper. Too, Petitioner would have been the sole bidder for the CF Cards. Moreover, the acceptance of Petitioner's bid would have saved the government over One Hundred Million Pesos (P100,000,000)," the petition read.

It also accused Comelec of tweaking specifications favorable to Smartmatic.

"Hence, if Comelec Resolution No. 9600 dated December 27,2012 is left at is, this Honorable Court would give judicial sanction to the Comelec running roughshod over the Rule of Law, as it runs counter to the law on public procurement and renders the same as an empty formality," LDLA said in its petition seeking for issuance of temporary restraining order.

Meanwhile, the P129.49-million thermal papers project was secured by Consolidated Paper Products; JV SPH Int. Corp. & Advance Paper Corp. for the P36.7-million marking pen provision; Optimal System Distribution for the P9.9-million toners project; and JV FUMACO, Inc & LCTSI for the P152.5 million external rechargeable batteries.

Negotiations are still ongoing for the P400-million lease of warehouse with configuration facilities.

As for the P290.2-million bid of Noah's Paper Mill Inc. for the ballot boxes and the P2.2-billion bid of Air 21 and 2GO Express & Logistics Inc. for the deployment project, they are still undergoing post-qualification evaluations.

Failed in its first salvo is the bidding for the P131-million bidding for the National Support Center.

Aside from the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, Smartmatic also secured the right to provide all the election-related goods and services in the 2010 presidential elections.

On Thursday's bidding procedures, SBAC chairperson lawyer Helen Flores they are looking to finish the bidding for the P192-million ballot packaging project in time for the start of the ballot printing.

"It has to be in place if the printing starts. Yung ballots kasi ayaw namin nakatiwangwang lang sila sa open space. After being printed, we want them packed right away to avoid exposure to many factors," said Flores.

Ballot packaging deals with the sealing ballots in clear, airtight plastic bags before placing them in boxes for deployment to the polling precincts nationwide before Election Day.

The Comelec is already in the process of making final preparations before the start of the configuration and ballot printing.

A total of five entities participated in the public bidding.

They are Asian Tigers Lane Moving and Storage; Noah's Paper Mills; ASA Color and Chemical Ind. Inc.; Sigma Packaging Corp and Advance Computer Joint Venture; and B-Mirk Enterprise Corp. (HDT/Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)