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Thursday, March 25, 2004
Solgen to issue final demand letter to Mega Pacific
STATE lawyers Wednesday said they will send next week a final demand letter to Mega Pacific eSolutions for the return of P1.03 billion paid to the company for 1,991 automated counting machines (ACMs) earlier intended for use in the May 10 elections.
"We will sue them if they do not pay. We have a mandate from the Supreme Court," Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo said. Each ACM costs US$5,030 or P281,680 based on the prevailing exchange rate of P56 to US$1.
"The SC nullified the contract and ordered the government to be reimbursed. We will file a civil complaint if they do not pay. It's that simple." Benipayo added.
The SC earlier annulled the automated contract entered into by the Comelec with Mega Pacific for being irregular. The contract included the purchase of the ACMs.
The Comelec is set to return the ACMs to Mega Pacific after it gets the money paid for the ACMs.
Lawyer Alfredo Lazaro, a spokesman of Mega Pacific eSolutions, earlier said they are not obligated to return the money since they have complied fully with their commitment with the Comelec.
Lazaro also said they have complied with procedures stated in the contract and even the SC did not mention in its ruling that their company violated provisions of the deal.
He added that the consortium also incurred expenses and since the machines were manufactured exclusively for the Comelec's use, it would be impossible to return the money. Benjamin B. Pulta
(March 25, 2004 issue)
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