The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced this morning that the terms of reference and requests for proposals (TOR/RFP) for bidders in the automation of the 2010 national and local elections will be released Wednesday, March 18, 2009.

In a press conference this morning, COMELEC Chairman Jose A.R. Melo said that the TOR/RFP -stacked inside 11 folders including all of its annexes - contains the poll body's policies, requirements and technical specifications, among others, that will help prospective bidders prepare responsive bids.

"We are announcing that this (TOR/RFP) is now available and on March 18, this will be released. Bibilhin na ito ng mga prospective bidders. The last day for purchasing this (documents) will be on March 25," Melo said.

The poll chief added that a pre-bid conference will be conducted by COMELEC on March 27 which is a venue for bidders to "raise questions or seek to clarify any matter" regarding the bidding process. The opening of all the bids will be done exactly a month after the pre-bid conference (April 27), he said. This will be done at the third floor of the Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros, Manila.

"When we open the bids, everybody will be invited. There'll be of course agencies which will be in attendance, as required. It would be the media which will be the most important there," Melo said, adding that the opening of the bids may take a whole day.

"We are confident that the bidding will push through smoothly and we will have an automated election in 2010. In fact, I am ready to vote," he said, as he gamely showed a blown-up reproduction of his voter registration record.

Melo and Commissioner Nicodemo T. Ferrer, meanwhile, explained that the P1 million non-refundable fee for the purchase of the TOR/RFP documents stays, stressing that "this requirement will separate the boys from the men, the serious from the jokers," referring to the prospective bidders. ###