Comelec admits lapse after junking ballot folder contract

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has scrapped a P690-million contract to supply special folders intended to ensure voters’ privacy during the polling process. This was admitted by Comelec chairman Jose Melo said on Tuesday, citing “some sort of lapse on the part of Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and Comelec en banc." Melo admitted that the commission “relied so much" on the information of the people "below them" regarding the specifics of the contract. "The good thing here is when we saw the error we correct[ed] it," he told reporters on Tuesday.

Last March 8, the BAC recommended that the company OTC Paper Supply be awarded the contract for the supply and delivery of 1,815,000 pieces of 25-inch-long ballot secrecy folders priced at P380 each. Colored royal blue, the new folder would measure 9.5 inches wide, 28 inches long, and 0.65 mm thick. It would be made of polypropylene sheet material for its top layer that bears the Comelec logo and the words ‘ballot secrecy folder.’ The bottom layer would be made of polypropylene board and would have the same size but the thickness would be 3.0 mm. For the expandable spine, the width would be two inches and length would be 28 inches using the same polypropylene sheet but the color would be ultrasonic welded with the top layer joined by rivets with the bottom layer. But in a three-page resolution promulgated Monday, the poll body recalled the award, saying that it was “extravagant beyond the ordinary needs of the Commission." Melo even said that the poll body thought that the price of each folder was P3.80 because the quotation was not spelled out in letters on the recommendation.
Besides cost issues, the Comelec also said in the resolution that the number of folders recommended to be purchased exceeded the total number that may actually be used during the elections. The poll body said that they were "insufficiently informed" that the computation used by the BAC was a multiplication of the number of clustered precincts, which it thought was 82,500, by the number of ballot secrecy folders required in each clustered precinct. Under Comelec Resolution 8786, there should be 22 folders per clustered precinct. There are 76,340 clustered precincts in the upcoming elections, indicating that the poll body needs only 1,679,480 folders, 135,520 folders less than the initial number of folders that was supposed to be purchased. Melo said that the Comelec has decided to use ordinary folders in place of the specialized folders. "Kukunin na lang namin ordinary folder not the long one. Matatakpan din naman. Hindi kailangan kasing-haba ng ballot, he said. (Instead of the special folder which is longer, we will get the ordinary folder because it will still serve the purpose of covering the ballot.) BAC stands by recommendation Despite the allegations, the BAC said it stands by its recommendation to award the contract to OTC. BAC chair Maria Lea Alarkon said that committee complied with the procurement process in choosing OTC. She said that Republic Act 9184 or An Act Providing for the Modernization, Standardization and Regulation of the Procurement Activities of the Government and for Other Purposes requires them to award the contract to the holder of the folder patent. Section 50 of the Implementing Rules of RA 9184 states that an “alternative mode of direct contracting" may be used if goods being ordered are patented and may “prohibit others from manufacturing the same item" and “when the procurement of critical plant components from a specific supplier is a condition precedent to hold a contractor or guarantee its project performance, in accordance with the provisions of its contract." Alarkon said that on February 27, 2010, the company submitted proof of its claim of copyright over the approved design and specifications from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The IPO document said that the OTC applied for patent on February 10, or 17 days before it submitted its proposal to the Comelec. She said that the same provision was used by the Comelec to award poll machine supplier Smartmatic-TIM the contract for the manufacture of the ballot boxes. "Yun yung usual procedure na ginagawa (That's the usual procedure that's being done)," she told reporters in an interview. She likewise said that they "properly informed" the Comelec en banc of the basis of the allocation. She also defended the quoted price of P380 per folder, saying that it was reasonable because of the material needed to make it. "We considered it reasonable, actually it is made of hard plastic, polypropylene," she said. Alarkon added that based on the binders they have been buying since 2004, the price for these folders was not that high. The poll body official was pertaining to the hard binders used by the Commission to compile voter registration records that they bought at P320 each. The company in question The OTC is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry under the name of a Willy Kwok Young. The registration will expire in 2011. Young's business permit listed OTC as a manufacturer and importer of paper. OTC's business address is at 451 M. Dela Cruz St., Sta. Quiteria Road, Brgy. 163, District 1, Caloocan City. In 2008, the Comelec awarded the contract for the thumbprint and fingerprint takers used for taking biometrics to the OTC. Melo said the investigation is ongoing to determine who should be held responsible for the contract but he was quick to note he is not assuming that the recommendation of the "extravagant" contract was intentional. "Ang akin lang ano (In my opinion), you will be misled if you don’t look into it," he said. On Monday, Comelec law department head Ferdinand Rafanan said that Executive Director Jose Tolentino should explain himself because he supposedly recommended the OTC for the award. Tolentino, however, denied that he was connected in any way to the OTC or that there was any investigation being conducted by the Comelec. Alarkon said that they will just wait for the decision of the Comelec. Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said that if it is proven that there was a deliberate attempt to mar the contract, those responsible would be "dealt with according to the law," specifically Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. - RJAB Jr./JV, GMANews.TV