Ballot folder supplier wants out of UV lamp bidding

Amid accusations of overpricing, the supplier that was supposed to supply the controversial 380-peso ballot secrecy folders said on Friday that it will withdraw its bid to supply the ultraviolet (UV) lamps for the automated polls. In an interview with reporters, OTC (One Time Carbon) Paper Supply manager Henry Young said they want to withdraw their bid for the supply and delivery of UV lamps to be used in the May polls. "If it will generate more controversy then we will request the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow us to withdraw without any sanctions or penalty on our side," Young said. OTC, the company that was awarded the botched P690-million ballot secrecy folder contract, is among the three companies that were post qualified by the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) to supply the UV lamps after it offered the lowest bid of P28 million. The other bidders are Embu Integrated and Philand Industries. The UV lamps will be used to verify whether one of the security features of the ballot, the UV marks, are present on the ballot. But Young said they have yet to receive any official announcement from the Comelec if they will be awarded the contract for the UV lamps. He added that in any bidding process, having the lowest price offer does not mean that you will automatically be picked as the contractor. BAC chair Lea Alarkon, however, said that if OTC decides to withdraw, they will face penalty and will be blacklisted for five years. Comelec Law Department chief Ferdinand Rafanan said they will look into the matter. Rafanan is the head of the three-man panel tasked to look into the recommendation of the BAC to award the ballot secrecy folder contract to OTC. The poll body scrapped the contract because it was supposedly "extravagant beyond the ordinary needs of the Commission." It also said the number of folders to be purchased exceeded the total number that may actually be used during the elections. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMANews.TV