Firm in botched ballot folder deal gets new Comelec pact

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has awarded the contract for the supply and delivery of stamp pads to be used in the May polls to the supplier of the controversial P690-million deal for the ballot secrecy folders. A notice of award released by the Comelec Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Tuesday indicated that the poll body awarded the contract for the supply and delivery of 360,000 pieces of thumbprint and/or fingerprint taker (commonly known as stamp pads) to OTC (One Time Carbon) Paper Supply. The document was dated March 18. Lawyer Lea Alarkon, BAC chairperson, said each stamp pad would cost P16 and could get at least 600 clear fingerprint impressions. Earlier, the Comelec awarded a P690-million contract to OTC for the purchase and delivery of 1,815,000 pieces of 25-inch long ballot secrecy folders priced at P380 each. But the poll body scrapped the contract for being too "extravagant." In the wake of the controversial contract, the poll body created a three-man panel to look into the recommendation of the BAC to award the contract for the ballot folders to the OTC. The controversy also prompted OTC manager Henry Young to express his company's intention to back out of the bidding for the UV lamps to be used in the May polls. Young's firm had offered the lowest bid of P28 million for the UV (ultraviolet) lamps, besting two other bidders, Embu Integrated and Philand Industries. Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said the awarding of the stamp pad contract is different from the ballot folder contract. "We’ll treat those issues separately. Hindi naman sila [OTC] blacklisted (They're not blacklisted)," he told reporters. — LBG, GMANews.TV