THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday announced the awarding of the secure electronic transmission services (SETS) project, which will be used in the May 2025 national and local polls, to the joint venture of Ione Resources Inc. and Ardent Networks, Inc.
The SETS will be used to transmit election results using telecommunication networks.
The project will include provision of data centers and connectivity requirements for automated election system servers.
“After careful examination, the Commission on Elections, sitting en banc, resolved to approve the recommendation of the Special Bids and Awards Committee to issue a notice of award to the Ione-Ardent JV for the procurement project of SETS,” Comelec said in a statement on Monday night.
The Special Bids and Awards Committee said has said the joint venture has passed all legal, financial, and technical requirements for P1.6-billion project. This was after the committee’s technical working group recommended that the joint venture be deemed as post-qualified after going through the process of post-qualification evaluation.
In late February, the joint venture was declared to have the “lowest calculated bid” of P1,426,000,348.
The joint venture of EBizolution, Inc. – Secur Links Network and Technologies Inc. – Systems Information and Solutions Corporation, meanwhile, had the “2nd lowest calculated bid” with a price offer of P1,628,888,888.