Comelec panel to investigate special ballot folder contract

(Update 7:38 PM) A three-member panel has been created to investigate the contract covering the supply of special folders designed to ensure voter privacy during the forthcoming May elections. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) made this announcement a day after it admitted a “lapse" of judgment in awarding the contract, which was later scrapped. The panel would conduct a two-week investigation and submit a report to the Comelec en banc, Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told reporters in a briefing. In a minute resolution, the Comelec said that the panel would be composed of Comelec law deparment head Ferdinand Rafanan, and directors Adolfo Ibanez of the Personnel Department, and Divina Blas-Perez of the Election and Barangay Affairs Department. The panel is expected to look into the recommendation of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) to award the contract to OTC (One Time Carbon) Paper Supply. Worth P690 million, the contract covers supply and delivery of 1,815,000 pieces of 25-inch long ballot secrecy folders priced at P380 each. Upon a closer review, the poll body said the contract was "extravagant beyond the ordinary needs of the Commission." It also said that the number of folders to be purchased exceeded the total number that may actually be used during the elections. On Tuesday, Comelec chairman Jose Melo admitted that the poll body en banc and the BAC committed a "lapse" in judgment when it awarded the contract. Earlier, Rafanan also said that poll officials — including Executive Director Jose Tolentino who supposedly recommended the OTC for the award — need to do some explaining. However, both Tolentino and BAC chair Lea Alarkon said that they followed the procurement process in choosing OTC. Larrabal said that all pronouncements about the matter should wait until the end of the investigation. "That's when we will issue a comment... we don't want a situation where 10 people will be saying 10 different things," he said. However, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said that it is "possible" that depending on the results of the investigation, some BAC personnel might be removed or transferred. "That's always a possibility, the BAC is not a permanent body," he said during the press briefing. Meanwhile, the poll body official said that other bids earlier awarded by the BAC would no longer be reviewed. "All the other procurements did not raise a red flag... all of our checks and counterchecks are in order," he said. Melo earlier said that the Comelec will be using normal folders during the elections. Winning bidder to file appeal after contract is scrapped The company that won a contract to provide special ballot folders for the May elections will file an appeal after its agreement was cancelled by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). OTC Paper Supply, the winning bidder for the supply of more than 1.8 million ballot secrecy folders, will file a motion for reconsideration with the Comelec, Henry Young, the company’s manager said. Although OTC will exhaust all legal remedies for the case, the company is also prepared to bring the case to court, Young added. “If there’s no action our lawyers will do all the necessary legal remedies," Young said in a telephone interview. He also denied that the folder — at P380 each — is not overpriced. Ordinary plastic boards with binders are currently priced anywhere from P200 to P300 in bookstores. The price OTC offered is reasonable because the folders will be compromised. On Wednesday morning, the company has already received a notice from the Comelec informing them of the arrangement’s cancellation. Besides complying with documentary requirements and due diligence obligations, the company has already paid P34 million for its performance bond. The bond, which would compensate Comelec if OTC fails to deliver goods as promised, is five percent of its total supply contract worth P689.7 million. The company has already allotted half a billion pesos since it has already bought materials needed to produce plastic folders as well as the molds. On Tuesday, the Comelec — through its chairman, Jose Melo — admitted that the body committed a “lapse in judgment" when it approved the contract to OTC Paper through a negotiated bidding. Melo then had the contract cancelled and ordered the investigation to look into whether the folders were overpriced. - RJAB Jr., KBK, GMANews.TV