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Yet to award online voting contract- Comelec
By Nidz Godino
"Two joint venture companies pre-qualified are still undergoing post-qualification evaluation by technical working group," Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia said Comelec is still doing post-qualification evaluation and has yet to award contract for online voting and counting system (OVCS) for overseas voting in May 2025 midterm elections.
Garcia issued statement in reaction to criticisms over public bidding of P465-million OVCS project of the commission.
One of the bidders, was previously declared "ineligible" by Comelec, questioned what it considered "low bid" of another bidder.
Joint venture of AMA Group Holdings Corp., Dasan Network Solutions Inc. and Kevoting Inc. twice sought reconsideration of its bid that was declared "ineligible" first on April 4 before special bid and awards committee automated election system (SBAC-AES) and second, on April 12 before Comelec en banc.
According to joint venture, they were flatly rejected twice without opening bid.
"Comelec en banc did not reconsider second motion because joint refused to pay P2.3 million non-refundable protest fee, 5 percent of project cost," it said in statement.
Garcia said protest fee is mandatory requirement of procurement law.
In its motions for reconsideration, AMA-Dasan-Kevoting joint venture argued SBAC has refused to look into low bid of P112 million by SMSGT Technologies and Sequent Technologies Joint Venture.
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"Its bid represented only 25 percent of estimated project cost, raising questions on its capacity to handle 2025 overseas voting system," AMA-Dasan-Kevoting claimed.
AMA-Dasan-Kevoting said there were deficiencies like failure of SMSGT-Sequent joint venture to submit 14001 ISO Certification (Environmental Management System) or its equivalent. It also does not have sufficient credentials to prove their internet voting system was successfully used in electoral exercise.
In its second motion for reconsideration, AMA-Dasan-Kevoting joint venture raised question if SMSGT-Sequent has submitted any written certification from election authority that it was indeed successful in previous electoral exercise it handled.
It mentioned that one of its executives admitted in its post-bid evaluation that the only electoral exercise it did was referendum in Madrid involved 1.2 million voters.
It said: "SMSGT-Sequent should not be allowed to participate in the first place for failure to prove that ultimately their internet/online voting system has proven track record of being successfully implemented in at least one election year here or abroad; and proposed internet voting system has been successfully used in prior electoral exercise."
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