BY GERARD NAVAL
From Malaya
Link: http://www.malaya.com.ph/04062010/news7.html
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc yesterday rescinded the P689.7-million project contract with OTC Paper Supply for the procurement of more than 1.8 million ballot secrecy folders for the May 10 polls.
Comelec said upon closer review of the contract it discovered that the purchase price of each ballot secrecy folder was pegged at P380 each.
"(It) is extravagant beyond the ordinary needs of the commission," the three-page resolution said.
The poll body said it was surprised by the computations used by the Comelec-Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) as instead of multiplying the 22 ballot secrecy folder per precinct to the 76,340 clustered precincts, the BAC computed the folders to be purchased for 82,500.
"The Commission was insufficiently informed of such computation," the resolution said
In a separate interview, a ranking Comelec official admitted they were misled by the BAC, which is headed by Director Maria Leah Alarkon.
The source said the BAC recommendation was endorsed by Comelec Executive Director and Project Management Office (PMO) head Jose Tolentino.
"We were really misled… Ang alam ni Chairman (Jose) Melo, P3.80 per piece kaya niya pinirmahan yung recommendation ng BAC," the source said.
The order came a day after Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. revealed the purchase of ballot secrecy folders was overpriced.
But Comelec spokesman James Jimenez insisted the Comelec action came even before Pimentel’s expose.
"Hindi pa napipirmahan. Andun pa lang sa stage na gagawa ng paperwork, nahuli agad. Because we caught it on time, the contract was not signed but it was awarded," he told reporters.
"The price warranted a second look. It was large enough to warrant a second look," he said.
Jimenez said the Comelec had initiated the probe as early as two weeks ago.
Comelec Law Department Director Ferdinand Rafanan admitted he recommended to the en banc the cancellation of the contract after Dr. Arwin Serrano, the representative of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting in the BAC, called his attention.
The Comelec is about to spend some P30 million for the purchase of portable ultra-violet (UV) lamps after it decided to disable the UV ink readers of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.
Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the commission is already nearing the process of completing the bidding for the acquisition of some 80,000 hand-held UV lamps to be used in May 10.
"That was bidded out already… It’s still in post-qualification. Hindi pa naa-award," Larrazabal told reporters.
Comelec was forced to shut down the UV ink readers feature of the PCOS machines after its service provider, Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation, failed to meet the UV ink density requirement in the official ballots.
Asked if it would be Smartmatic-TIM that will shoulder the cost for the purchase of the UV lamps, Smartmatic-Asia Pacific president Cesar Flores replied, "No".
Under the P7.2 billion automation contract, it is the responsibility of the provider (Smartmatic) to supply all the goods and services of the election automation project. Among the goods are the PCOS machines and all its features.
Flores insisted that it was not their fault that there were some "inconsistencies" with the UV markings in the ballots.
He said time constraints prevented Smartmatic-TIM to increase the density of the ink since it would require more testing.
From Malaya
Link: http://www.malaya.com.ph/04062010/news7.html
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc yesterday rescinded the P689.7-million project contract with OTC Paper Supply for the procurement of more than 1.8 million ballot secrecy folders for the May 10 polls.
Comelec said upon closer review of the contract it discovered that the purchase price of each ballot secrecy folder was pegged at P380 each.
"(It) is extravagant beyond the ordinary needs of the commission," the three-page resolution said.
The poll body said it was surprised by the computations used by the Comelec-Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) as instead of multiplying the 22 ballot secrecy folder per precinct to the 76,340 clustered precincts, the BAC computed the folders to be purchased for 82,500.
"The Commission was insufficiently informed of such computation," the resolution said
In a separate interview, a ranking Comelec official admitted they were misled by the BAC, which is headed by Director Maria Leah Alarkon.
The source said the BAC recommendation was endorsed by Comelec Executive Director and Project Management Office (PMO) head Jose Tolentino.
"We were really misled… Ang alam ni Chairman (Jose) Melo, P3.80 per piece kaya niya pinirmahan yung recommendation ng BAC," the source said.
The order came a day after Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. revealed the purchase of ballot secrecy folders was overpriced.
But Comelec spokesman James Jimenez insisted the Comelec action came even before Pimentel’s expose.
"Hindi pa napipirmahan. Andun pa lang sa stage na gagawa ng paperwork, nahuli agad. Because we caught it on time, the contract was not signed but it was awarded," he told reporters.
"The price warranted a second look. It was large enough to warrant a second look," he said.
Jimenez said the Comelec had initiated the probe as early as two weeks ago.
Comelec Law Department Director Ferdinand Rafanan admitted he recommended to the en banc the cancellation of the contract after Dr. Arwin Serrano, the representative of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting in the BAC, called his attention.
The Comelec is about to spend some P30 million for the purchase of portable ultra-violet (UV) lamps after it decided to disable the UV ink readers of the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.
Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the commission is already nearing the process of completing the bidding for the acquisition of some 80,000 hand-held UV lamps to be used in May 10.
"That was bidded out already… It’s still in post-qualification. Hindi pa naa-award," Larrazabal told reporters.
Comelec was forced to shut down the UV ink readers feature of the PCOS machines after its service provider, Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation, failed to meet the UV ink density requirement in the official ballots.
Asked if it would be Smartmatic-TIM that will shoulder the cost for the purchase of the UV lamps, Smartmatic-Asia Pacific president Cesar Flores replied, "No".
Under the P7.2 billion automation contract, it is the responsibility of the provider (Smartmatic) to supply all the goods and services of the election automation project. Among the goods are the PCOS machines and all its features.
Flores insisted that it was not their fault that there were some "inconsistencies" with the UV markings in the ballots.
He said time constraints prevented Smartmatic-TIM to increase the density of the ink since it would require more testing.
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