The Commission on Elections has no other option but to perpetually disqualify technology provider Smartmatic-Total Information Management if it wants to conduct credible and honest elections next year, a poll watchdog group said Sunday.
The Citizens for Clean and Credible Elections said it will again ask the Comelec to blacklist Smartmatic from any election-related activity in the Philippines on the basis of its recent disqualification by a poll body bidding committee and by the Supreme Court.
C3E co-convenor Alain Pascua said the Comelec under its new Chairman Andres Bautista would consider the group’s appeal to blacklist Smartmatic.
“We are optimistic in the openness shown by Chairman Bautista, and we hope that he finds merit in our cause. Smartmatic should not be allowed to participate any further, given its numerous violations, deficiencies, and sins of omission,” Pascua said in a statement.
The Comelec Bids and Awards Committee last week finally disqualified Smartmatic from its bid to bag the P2.5 billion contract for the lease of 23,000 Optical Mark Reader machines which will be used in next year’s elections.
The BAC announced Smartmatic’s disqualification following a post-qualification evaluation conducted by the Special Technical Working Group.
The working group recommended the disqualification of Comelec for its failure to submit valid articles of incorporation and after its test unit failed to meet the requirement that the system shall have at least two storage devices, and shall be capable of writing all data simultaneously.
Last month, the Supreme Court also struck down a P268.8 million contract entered into by the Comelec and Smartmatic for being illegal.
The SC ruled that the Comelec failed to justify its resort to direct contracting with Smartmatic-TIM under the Government Procurement Reform Act .
Bishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz also said the people can look forward to an honest election next year with the exclusion of Smartmatic in the political exercise.
“I am happy to note that Smartmatic is practically out of the way for 2016 elections. We might have good and honest 2016 elections if there is no Smartmatic,” Cruz said in an interview over the weekend.