THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday announced the postponement of the Submission of Bids for the 2025 poll automation project even as the disqualification case against Smartmatic Philippines remained pending before the poll body.
In the Supplemental/Bid Bulletin No. 3 issued by the Comelec – Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC), the deadline to submit bids for the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) project has been moved to December 12.
“This is being issued to notify the public and all interested parties that the scheduled Submission, Receipt, and Opening of Bids is hereby reset from 28 November 2023 to 12 December 2023,” said the Comelec-SBAC.
It said the venue for the Submission and Receipt of Bids is still at the SBAC Secretariat Office on the 3rd Floor of the Far East Managers and Investors Incorporated (FEMII) Building in Intramuros, Manila on or before 9 am.
The Opening of Bids, on the other hand, will be on the 3rd Floor of the Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros, Manila at 10:30 am.
This is the second time the deadline has been reset, the first originally set on November 20 moved to November 28.
In a press briefing, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the SBAC decided to move the deadline to give prospective bidders more time to prepare their bids.
“This is to give ample time to all bidders to prepare their bids due to the magnitude and numerous requirements of the project,” said Garcia.
He added the postponement will give the Comelec more time to resolve the disqualification case filed against Smartmatic Philippines.
“This is also to, hopefully, allow the Comelec to be able to resolve the controversy surrounding a particular supplier. This is so the issue will be put to rest and our procurement process will go smoothly,” said Garcia.
DQ CASE
Garcia said the draft resolution of the case against Smartmatic has been distributed to the members of the poll body, adding the members are being given ample time to study the draft resolution before coming up with a collegial decision.
“The Comelec should not decide based on the sentiment of the people, the gossip of others. The Comelec should decide based on evidence at hand, jurisprudence, and facts presented to us,” said Garcia.
“The commitment of the Comelec is to resolve once and for all that particular issue. Whatever will be the decision of the Comelec, this will practically lay down the roadmap of the Comelec in the succeeding elections,” he added.
Asked for a preview of the decision, the poll chief refused to preempt the ruling of the Commission en banc.
“Definitely, somebody will go to the Supreme Court to question the legality of the decision of the Comelec,” he said.
The Commission appealed to parties involved to observe the sub judice rule on the case.
Last June, a petition was filed by ex-poll official Augusto Lagman, former Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary Eliseo Rio, retired Col. Leonardo Odoño, and former Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines president Franklin Ysaac calling for the disqualification of Smartmatic.
The petitioners asked the Commission to declare Smartmatic ineligible to participate in the forthcoming public bidding for the 2025 AES since the May 2022 AES was attended by “serious and material irregularities,” particularly in the transmission and reception of election results.
