Getting old Smartmatic machines may violate law, poll exec says

MANILA — A poll official on Thursday expressed caution over plans to exercise the option to purchase the old machines of the Smartmatic International Corporation to be used in the 2013 midterm elections.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Augusto Lagman said he personally believes that the exercise of the option to purchase under the 2009 Comelec–Smartmatic deal may hold the poll body liable of violating the Government Procurement Act or Republic Act 9184.
“In my own opinion, we might be violating the procurement law (if we exercise the option to purchase),” Lagman said.
Section 3 of RA 9184 states, “All procurement of the national government, its departments, bureaus, offices and agencies, including state universities and colleges, government -owned and/or-controlled corporations, government financial institutions and local government units, shall, in all cases, be governed by these principles… (b) competitiveness – by extending equal opportunity to enable private contracting parties who are eligible and qualified to participate in public bidding”.
To recall, the previous contract of the Comelec and Smartmatic to lease 82,000 Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines for the 2010 polls provides the former the option to purchase the equipment.
In a separate interview, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said Smartmatic is offering their machines under the “option to purchase” clause but at a higher price.
“Ang offer ng Smartmatic, merong patong na yung presyo kasi may inflation daw so it won’t be the same price. At sinisingil pa nila kami sa warehousing (of the PCOS machines) if we will exercise that option,” Brillantes said.
Section 51 of the law provides that a Repeat Order must have a unit price that is equal or lower than the one provided in the original contract and that the quantity must not exceed 25 percent of the quantity of items.
For Lagman, who was one of the staunchest critics of Smartmatic prior to his appointment as commissioner, it would be best if the automated election system (AES) for the 2013 midterm poll exercise will just be bid out again.
“Smartmatic should just participate in the bidding,” Lagman said.
Exercising the option to purchase the Smartmatic machines is one of the alternatives being eyed by the Comelec for the 2013 AES aside from purchasing or leasing new machines.
This was after the Comelec Advisory Council (CAC) recommended the use of the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) system, particularly the PCOS configuration, for the 2013 elections.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/02/16/getting-old-smartmatic-machines-may-violate-law-poll-exec-says-206425

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Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

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3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
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