Comelec nixes revival of Mega Pacific machines

MANILA, Philippines – With the automation of the 2010 polls in peril, an election lawyer on Wednesday suggested that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resort to using the Mega Pacific eSolutions, Inc.’s automated counting machines that were intended for the 2004 elections. But the Comelec promptly thumbed down lawyer Romulo Macalintal’s idea, stressing that the Supreme Court in 2004 invalidated the poll body’s contract with the South Korean firm over irregularities and bidding violations. "It’s unlikely that we’ll try to use those (machines) for the 2010 polls. We already made several motions before the court, and each denial was harsher than the last," said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in an interview on dzBB radio on Wednesday. On Monday, Comelec chair Jose Melo announced that the 2010 elections might be conducted manually, after the Filipino firm Total Information Management, Inc. (TIM) withdrew from its partnership with Barbados-based Smartmatic International Corp., the consortium that bagged the P11.3-billion contract to automate the 2010 polls. The country’s procurement law requires foreign companies like Smartmatic to have a Filipino partner in order to conduct business in the Philippines, but the Comelec hinted that there are ways to work around this provision. Macalintal believes that if TIM and Smartmatic would fail to resolve their “differences," the Comelec can use the Mega Pacific machines to automate the 2010 polls. "The Comelec-Mega Pacific deal is defective, not the machines. Now is the time for the poll body to bring out the 1,991 machines. We are spending about P4 million a year for storage of these equipment we never used," he told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. He argues that there is no legal impediment to the matter because the Ombudsman had already cleared of criminal and administrative liability the key individuals implicated in the Mega Pacific mess. When sought for clarification, Supreme Court spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said in a radio interview that there exists a legal issue because the Comelec and Mega Pacific are still feuding over payment for machines in the allegedly fraudulent automation deal. Still, Marquez said that the high tribunal is ready to look into the matter if the Comelec would ask the court again whether the machines could be used for the forthcoming elections. "The Comelec should initiate the moves, especially if they think that using Mega Pacific machines would be useful. The magistrates are prepared to act on the matter, especially if deadlines are involved," Marquez said in Filipino in an interview on dzBB radio. Mega Pacific mess
In 2003, the Comelec entered into a P1.2-billion contract with Mega Pacific and purchased a total of 1,991 automated counting machines in preparation for the May 2004 elections. In January 2004, the Supreme Court voided the deal, citing “clear violation of law and jurisprudence" and “reckless disregard of (Comelec’s) bidding rules and procedure" as among the reasons. The SC said that Mega Pacific was unqualified for the bidding because the company was only incorporated 11 days before the submission of bids. The Comelec and Mega Pacific are still fighting in court over the botched project. Mega Pacific wants full payment, while the Comelec is seeking a refund of the initial payment given to the company. Pending resolution, the machines have been stored in a Comelec warehouse since 2004. The government pays about P3.9 million in annual storage fees. The allegedly tainted Mega Pacific deal had sparked a scandal, but the Office of the Ombudsman in 2006 absolved from all criminal and administrative liabilities those implicated in the mess, including former Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos Sr., some officials of Comelec and Mega Pacific. Abalos resigned from his post in 2007 at the height of the $329-million National Broadband Network-Zhong Zing Telecommunications Equipment Corp. (NBN-ZTE) scandal. Witnesses alleged that Abalos brokered the deal in exchange for hefty commissions. Abalos denied the allegations. - GMANews.TV