The Commission on Elections' Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) after marathon meetings yesterday came out with an omnibus resolution regarding the motions for reconsideration filed by seven consortia seeking eligibility from the poll body to supply the voting and counting machines for the May 10, 2010 automated national and local elections.

Just last week, the SBAC declared all seven bidders, namely; 1. Avante International/ Canon Marketing Philippines/ DB Wizards/ NETNODE Technologies/ Creative Point; 2. Indra Sistemas/ Strategic Alliance Holdings, Inc. (SAHI)/ Hart Intercivic; 3. Sequoia Voting Systems Inc./ Universal Storefront Services Corporation/ USSC-Sequoia Voting Solutions Inc.; 4. Smartmatic International/ Total Information Management Corp.; 5. Syrex Inc./ Amalgamated Motors Phils. Inc./ Avision Inc.; 6. AMA Group Holdings Corp./ Election Systems and Software Int'l Inc. (ES&S) and 7. Gilat Satellite Network Ltd./ F.F. Cruz and Co., Inc./ Filipinas (Prefab Building) Systems Inc.; ineligible for failing to comply with the pass/fail criteria set forth by the COMELEC. However, the companies were given three days to file their respective motions for reconsideration before the SBAC.

"[The SBAC] appreciates the significance of this multi-billion procurement, and so they appropriately prepared and proceeded with great care and caution. At the same time, they want to uphold the law and the rules," the SBAC said in its Omnibus Resolution No. 09-001, promulgated May 13, 2009.

However, upon review of all of the seven bidders' motions for reconsideration, the SBAC ruled in the same omnibus resolution to carry on with "the evaluation of eligibility requirements and opening of bids of the consortiums Indra Systemas, S.A., Hart Intercivic, and SAHI; Smartmatic and Total Information Management; AMA and ES&S and Gilat Satellite Network Ltd. / F.F. Cruz and Co., Inc./Filipinas (Prefab Building) Systems, Inc."

The SBAC denied the motions for reconsideration of bidders Avante International/ Canon Marketing Philippines/ DB Wizards/ NETNODE Technologies/ Creative Point; Sequoia Voting Systems Inc./ Universal Storefront Services Corporation/ USSC-Sequoia Voting Solutions Inc.; Syrex Inc./ Amalgamated Motors Phils. Inc./ Avision Inc.

The SBAC set the resumption of the evaluation and the opening of bids of the four consortia on Friday May 15, 2009. ###