P76-M ink deal done without Comelec execs' knowledge

The awarding of the P76-million contract for the supply and delivery of indelible ink that will be used in the May 10 elections was done without the knowledge of several Commission on Elections (Comelec) officials. “I am severely disappointed that this was not the information I had when I stated that no award had yet been made and that a re-bidding was a possibility," said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez in a text message Tuesday. A notice released by the Comelec Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) under Lea Alarkon on Tuesday indicated that the contract was awarded to the lone bidder, Texas Resources Corp., last March 29. Texas will deliver 720,000 bottles of indelible ink to Comelec, with each bottle worth P105, according to the notice. In a chance interview with reporters, Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said he was not aware that the contract has already been awarded. He, however, said they do not usually meddle with the transactions made by the BAC.

Last week, the election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting said the poll body should investigate the bidding of the Texas indelible ink after it allegedly failed the test conducted by the BAC. On Sunday, Jimenez said they would conduct a re-bidding because Texas failed to meet their specifications, but he backtracked the next day, saying the problem was threshed out when testers shook a sample bottle. Under Section 35 of the Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act, the state must look for new bidders in case the first one fails. Jimenez said he would personally check why Comelec officials were not informed of the awarding of the contract. “Rest assured that I will personally find out why this happened," he said. The BAC is currently under investigation for the controversial P690-million contract in entered for the purchase and delivery of 1,815,000 pieces of 25-inch long ballot secrecy folders. The Comelec scrapped the contract for supposedly being too “extravagant," with each folder priced at P380. It also said that the number of folders to be purchased exceeded the total number that will be used in the upcoming elections. - KBK, GMANews.TV