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MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections has officially started the bidding process for the acquisition of new machines that will be used in the fully automated 2025 midterm polls.
Based on the invitation to bid uploaded by Comelec on its website, the contract up for grabs is worth P18.827 billion for the lease of 110,000 automated counting machines and other election-related materials and expenses.
In a press conference, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said that the poll body will procure not just the hardware to be used for the 2025 polls but also the software needed for the transmission of results and internet voting for overseas Filipino workers.
“We are encouraging all suppliers nationwide and worldwide to participate in the procurement,” Garcia said at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that the invitation to bid has been posted on the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System.
Garcia said that the use of a fully automated system is required by law and that the manual counting of votes tend to be marred with delays and errors, especially when voters’ handwriting is ineligible.
The use of machines to automatically count votes would only take an hour and could also prevent delays caused by those objecting to the results, Garcia said.
“With a fast process for counting votes, there is no violence. When the process is fast, it is less likely that people will complain or cause delays. In manual voting, those monitoring the vote count can stay there for a long period. But if it’s automated, they will not be able to object. That’s the advantage,” Garcia said.
Poll watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) previously called for more players to participate in the procurement process to ensure that the supplier with the greatest capability can deliver what’s needed “at a low, but not the lowest price.”
RELATED: Comelec should ensure transparent, ‘fully auditable’ 2025 midterm elections — NAMFREL
Since 2010, only controversial technology provider Smarmatic Philippines has secured all the biddings of the Comelec.
Security breaches were detected in Smartmatic’s operations several months prior to the May 9 elections in 2022, prompting senators’ suspicions of a compromise in Smartmatic’s procedures and overall operations.
In June, a group of former government officials submitted a petition to disqualify Smartmatic from participating in future Comelec bidding processes. Their claim cited “substantial inconsistencies” in the electoral results recorded at the precinct level compared to those published on the Comelec Transparency Server in the 2022 elections.
However, election watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) has repeatedly insisted that the 2022 polls were free of election rigging.
The PPCRV found a 99.84% accuracy rate reflected by its parallel count of the electronically transmitted election returns with the printed receipts of the vote-counting machines in the 2022 elections.
— Cristina Chi
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Credit belongs to: www.philstar.com
