With barely a year before the 2019 senatorial and local polls, the Commission on Elections announced that it is ready to procure and start the bidding process for the leasing of 97,350 vote counting machines.
In its invitation to bid, the Comelec-BAC opened its window to prospective technology providers to join the public bid for the lease of external batteries or the VCMs and the supply of thermal papers to be used as voter receipts.
The Comelec-BAC said the poll body has allocated P174,990,519 for the lease of 97,350 units of external batteries for the VCMs, or P1,797.54 per external battery.
Also, the Comelec-BAC said the approved budget for the contract for the supply of 1,168,200 rolls of thermal papers is set at P117,439,146 or P100.53 per roll.
“Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening,” the Comelec-BAC noted.
It said complete sets of Bidding Documents for either item may be acquired by interested bidders from June 5 to July 2 upon payment of a non-refundable fee of P50,000.
The BAC is also set to hold a Pre-Bid Conferences for both items on June 18 at 10 am at the Comelec Session Hall located at the Palacio del Gobernador Bldg. in Intramuros, Manila, and shall be open to prospective bidders.
The COMELEC said all bids for both items must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat on or before 9 a.m. of July 2 also at the COMELEC Session Hall.
Bid Opening for the two procurement projects shall immediately follow at 10 a.m. of the same day at the same venue, the COMELEC-BAC said.
The COMELEC earlier said it has all the reason to push for their preparation for the 2019 elections amid talks that there are lawmakers, who may suggest the postponement of the midterm polls in order to give way to the plebiscite for the proposed new Constitution.