“HINDI sana tayo namomroblema sa biglaang pag-atras ng St. Timothy Construction Corp. sa joint venture para sa halalan sa 2025, kung sa una pa lang, mas naging competitive at masusi ang bidding process ng Commission on Elections (COMELEC),” said Sen. Riza Hontiverus.
Why anyone would want to pull out of the richest voting procurement in the COMELEC’s history – P18 billion for the mere lease of voting machines and related equipment – is a red flag.
Another red flag is why such a lucrative procurement project attracted only a single qualified bidder – ang joint venture na pinangungunahan ng Miru Systems. Ang mahal mahal din ng bidding kasi may features ang mga voting machines na hindi naman pala gagamitin sa 2025. Isang eleksyon lang naman pala ang lease, bakit sinama pa sa specifications?
I ask now the same questions I raised in my privilege speech last March: Sa dami ng tanong at red flag sa kontratang ito, may totoo bang kompetisyon na naganap sa bidding process? Wala ba talagang nangyaring preferential treatment o sabwatan? Ngayong umatras ang St. Timothy Construction, may kakontrata pa ba ang COMELEC?
Under the laws on partnerships, the withdrawal of a joint venture partner like St. Timothy generally causes the dissolution of the joint venture itself. And even if the joint venture continues to exist without St. Timothy, does it still possess the financial capacity required by government procurement laws?
The COMELEC seems to share the same concerns, since it required the remaining joint venture partners to prove that they still possess the Net Financial Contracting Capacity to take on the project.
Clearly, COMELEC should have acted earlier on the many red flags surrounding St. Timothy and the joint venture led by Miru Systems before awarding them a contract of such immense national importance. Mismong ang St. Timothy Construction, mukhang repackaged version lang ng expired na produkto – it appears to share a common address and incorporator with that of a blacklisted contractor.
The joint venture’s non-disclosure of that fact violates government procurement laws, which require bidders to declare that they have no relation, association, affiliation or controlling interest with any blacklisted person or entity. The Senate should exercise its oversight functions and closely probe the contracts being awarded by COMELEC to facilitate the 2025 elections. Hindi tayo pwedeng mauwi sa manual elections, o sa kahit anong scenario na makakaapekto sa karapatan ng bawat Pilipino na bumoto at pumili sa susunod nating mga pinuno. (PR)
