Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros yesterday called for a Senate review of the contracts awarded by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to implement the automation of the 2025 midterm elections following the withdrawal of one of the three local firms of the Miru Systems joint venture.
The Joint Venture of Miru Systems, St. Timothy Construction Corp (STCC), Integrated Computer Systems, and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies Inc. bagged the P17.99 billion Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) contract for the national and local elections to be held next year.
The Comelec announced last week that the STCC has backed out of the joint venture due to conflict of interest as its chief financial officer, Sarah Discaya, is running in the mayoralty race in Pasig City.
The Comelec has said that the STCC provided the Net Financial Contracting Capacity for the joint venture.
In a statement, Hontiveros said: “The Senate should exercise its oversight functions and closely probe the contracts being awarded by Comelec to facilitate the 2025 elections. Hindi tayo pwedeng mauwi sa manual elections, o sa kahit anong scenario na makakaapekto sa karapatan ng bawat Pilipino na bumoto at pumili sa susunod nating mga pinuno (We cannot allow a return to manual elections or have any scenario that will affect the voting rights of Filipinos).”
She said that from the start, Comelec should have been competitive in its bidding process.
“Hindi sana tayo namomobrelam sa biglaang pag-atras ng St. Timothy Construction Corp (STCC). sa joint venture para sa halalan sa 2025 kung sa una pa lang ay mas naging competitive at masusi ang bidding process ng Comelec (The sudden withdrawal of St. Timothy Construction Corp’s from the joint venture for the 2025 elections would not be an issue if the Comelec had been competitive in its bidding process),” she said.
She added: “Why anyone would want to pull out of the richest voting procurement in the Comelec’s history — P18 billion for the mere lease of voting machines and related equipment — is a red flag.”
Hontiveros also said that “another red flag is why such a lucrative procurement project attracted only a single qualified bidder — the joint venture headed by Miru Systems.”
Hontiveros said she is likewise wondering why the bid price was so high as there are features in the voting machines which will not be used in the elections.
“Ngayong umatras ang St. Timothy Construction, may ka-kontrata pa ba ang Comelec (Does the Comelec have another contract now that St. Timothy has withdrawn)? Under the laws on partnership, the withdrawal of a joint venture partner like St. Timothy generally causes the dissolution of the joint venture itself,” she said.
She added: “And even if the joint venture continues to exist without St. Timothy, does it still possess the financial capacity required by government procurement laws? The Comelec seems to share the same concern since it required the remaining joint venture partners to prove that they still possess the Net Financial Contracting Capacity to take on the project.”
She said that St. Timothy appears to be a “repackaged version” of an expired product, noting that it shares a common address and incorporator with that of a blacklisted contractor based in Pasig City.
