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Smartmatic bags P500-M electronic results transmission deal


Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corporation has bagged the P500-million contract to provide the Commission on Elections with electronic results transmission services during the 2016 elections.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said the service provider submitted an offer of P507,718,000, which is lower by P50,282,000 than the transmission project's approved cost of P558 million.

“Comelec has approved the awarding of contract for ERTS to Smartmatic. Out of the four bidders, Smartmatic was the one who submitted the lowest responsive bid,” Jimenez said in a press conference.

He said Smartmatic also presented the best technical capabilities compared to the offers of the other bidders for the negotiated contract—Ezcom Telecommunications Service and Solutions Corp., Edgecomm Inc., and SOG Philippines Inc.

The winning bidder has included in its proposal an assurance that it would undertake site surveys of areas with a history of failed transmission within a period of three to four weeks and also its experience of providing the services in the 2010 and 2013 polls.

The ERTS will be used in the city/municipal, provincial, and national canvassing centers to send and receive transmitted results of voting.

The negotiated bid was initiated after the two public biddings were declared failure for not finding an adequate service provider.

Republic Act No. 9184 provides for a negotiated procurement method, wherein the Procuring Entity directly negotiates a contract with a technically, legally, and financially capable supplier. Negotiated procurments are allowed to proceed in case of two failed public biddings.

Smartmatic-TIM was earlier awarded a contract to supply the more than 79,000 voter counting machines that will be used in the May 9, 2016 national and local polls. —NB, GMA News

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