INSTEAD of January 4, interested bidders for the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) project are being given by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) until January 8, 2024, to submit their bids.
In its Bid Bulletin 1, the Comelec-Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) said the Submission and Opening of Bids for the second bidding cycle of the P18.8 billion project is being pushed back by four days.
"(This) is being issued to notify the public and all interested parties that the scheduled Submission and Opening of Bids is hereby reset from 04 January 2024 to 08 January 2024," said the Comelec-SBAC.
The SBAC said the adjustment is in order to "give ample time to all bidders to prepare their bids due to the magnitude and numerous requirements of the project."
It also comes amid the absence of any entity that have so far purchased the bid documents for P75,000 despite being available since December 15.
"As of today, no bidder has purchased our bidding documents," announced SBAC chairman Allen Francis Abaya during the pre-bid conference on Friday morning, December 22, 2023.
During the pre-bid conference, Abaya already expressed the possibility of the SBAC extending the deadline for submission and opening of bids.
He said a bid bulletin will be issued by SBAC to formally announce any possible changes.
"We will discuss on the possibility of extending the submission of bids considering the tightness of the (schedule), particularly on the renewal of licenses," Abaya told attendees of the pre-bid conference.
Present in the activity were potential bidders Unisyn Voting Solutions, Dominion Voting Systems, Miru Systems Co. Ltd., and International Lottery and Totalizor Systems Inc.
Venue for the Submission of Bids will be at the SBAC Secretariat Office at the Far East Managers and Investors Incorporated (FEMII) Building in Intramuros, Manila on or before 9 a.m.
The opening of bids will be at the Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila at 10:30 a.m. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)