Prospective bidders for the automation of the May 10, 2010 National and Local Elections have started turning up at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) main office today to obtain the necessary bid documents containing the poll body’s detailed policies, requirements and technical specifications, among others, on the automated electoral system up for use next year.

The poll body has pegged to One Million Pesos, the non-refundable purchase fee of the bid documents.

As early as 9:30 in the morning, prospective bidders have started to show up at the COMELEC’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) Secretariat, states COMELEC Spokesman James Jimenez.

“It looks like an auspicious start,” said Jimenez, adding that two (2) companies have already procured bid documents. “We in the COMELEC want to have as wide a field of choices as possible. So basically, the more the merrier,” he said.

Among the early birds are the Total Information Management Corporation/Smartmatic, represented by its Senior Consultant Lamberto Lorenzo and Philippine Avante International Technology Corp. who had Sales Manager Ms. Pinky Marie Manalac as representative. Both companies have provided the technologies used in the automation of the August 11, 2008 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“We’re ready. After we get the Terms of Reference (TOR), we’re ready to bid,” stated TIM/Smartmatic’s Lorenzo. He said the technology that they have had been tried out in other countries abroad and that the election results of that were “widely accepted” in those countries. “With that track record, I believe that we can provide the same security, sanctity of the ballot for the coming 2010 elections,” Lorenzo added.

Avante on the other hand, believes that all the vendors have “fair chances” and that whoever puts forward the best election systems for the Philippines would be the one to bag the contract to fully automate the elections next year; the first ever, in the nation’s history.

“We would like to tell everyone that we’ve been preparing for this since we helped in automating the ARMM elections,” said Manalac of Avante.

Meanwhile, Jimenez stressed that even as the first two bidders were the technology providers in the recent ARMM polls, the companies won’t be given an undue advantage over other prospective bidders.

He said the COMELEC is determined to “level the playing field for everyone who wants to help us in successfully automating the 2010 elections.” ###

Posted: 07.03.2009 SBR