“The SBAC also refused to look into what could be regarded as the ridiculously low bid of SMS Global Technologies-Sequent Technologies”
THE Commission on Elections has declared as “ineligible” the joint venture of AMA Holdings Corp.-Dasan Network Solutions Inc.-Kevoting Inc. to participate in bidding for the P465-million online voting and counting system for use in overseas voting in the 2025 midterm elections.
But it allowed another bidder, SMS Global Technologies-Sequent Tech, Inc., to participate for being compliant with the requirements despite the insufficiency of its credentials.
Four bidders took part in the P465-M online voting and counting system: Indra Soluciones Technologias SLU; SMS Global Technologies- Sequent Tech, Inc.; Voatz Inc.-EPDT Inc.-EbiZolucion Inc.; and AMA-Dasan-Kevoting.
SMS Global Technologies-Sequent Tech, Inc. submitted the lowest bid of P112 million, while Voatz Inc.-PLDT-biZolucion submitted a bid of P435 million.
Comelec disqualified Indra Soluciones Technologias, while it declared as ineligible the AMA-Dasan-Kevoting even before opening its bid.
The AMA-Dasan-Kevoting joint venture, through its authorized representative Angel Montes, filed two separate motions for reconsideration.
The first was on April 4 before the Comelec Special Bids and Awards Committee–Automated Election System (SBAC-AES) and the second on April 12 before the Comelec en banc.
In its April 12 second motion, the joint venture assailed the decision, saying its verdict to declare its bid as ineligible was “tainted with partiality.”
The Comelec denied the joint venture’s bid because it failed to pay the P2.3 million “protest fee,” which was un-refundable and represented 5 percent of the ceiling bid.
The Comelec denied its second motion without going into its merits, focusing on the payment of the protest fee. The joint venture plans to take legal action against the Comelec but it did not explain its legal options.
The SBAC-AES claimed it declared as ineligible the bid of AMA-Dasan-Kevoting because, citing its implementing rules and regulations on bidding, the joint venture failed to submit the credentials of the Korean Online Privacy Associations and Webmatch, the third party certifier in accordance with Comelec’s March 16, 2024 supplemental bid bulletin.
“It would be a great disservice to the Filipino people if Movant (AMA Group-Dasan-Kevoting, which submitted a relatively competitive bid) is not declared eligible in this bidding,” the joint venture said in its second motion for reconsideration.
“The SBAC–AES failed to appreciate Movant’s contention as to the totality of the bidding documents it submitted as compliance with the bidding requirements,” it added.
“Movant in its motion for reconsideration had earlier mentioned to the SBAC-AES for 2025 NLE that the Certificate of General (Technology) Service Performance Record attached should be enough to satisfy the requirement for third-party credentials for purposes of establishing that the system is operating properly, securely, and accurately,” it said.
Since no less than the National Election Commission of Korea, the Korean “counterpart” of Comelec, certified Kevoting’s online election system, it would have been enough to satisfy the requirements of the third party certifier, the joint venture said.
“Undoubtedly, based on the totality of bidding documents that Movant was able to submit earlier to the Committee, it would reveal that there was, at the very least, substantial compliance with the requirements of the instant bidding.
“Essentially, compliance for one item could be properly supplied by the submission of the other documents to another item,” it said.
The SBAC also refused to look into what could be regarded as the ridiculously low bid of SMS Global Technologies-Sequent Technologies.
Behind its low bid were deficiencies like its failure to submit 14001 ISO Certification (Environmental Management System) or equivalent certification.
Also, the joint venture does not have sufficient credentials their internet voting system was successfully used in an electoral exercise.
In its second motion for reconsideration, AMA-Dasan-Kevoting raised the question if SMSGT-Sequent has submitted any written certification from an election authority that it was indeed successful in the previous electoral exercise it handled.
It mentioned one of its executives admitted in its post-bid evaluation the only electoral exercise it did was the referendum in Madrid that involved 1.2 million voters.
It said: “SMSGT-Sequent should not be allowed to participate in the first place for failure to prove that ultimately their a) internet/online voting system has a proven track record of being successfully implemented in at least one election year here or abroad; and b) the proposed internet voting system has been successfully used in a prior electoral exercise.”
The SBAC-AES is composed of: Allen Francis Abaya, chair; John Laudiangco, vice chair; Divina Blas-Perez, Jovencio Balanquit; and Abigail Claire Lacuna, members.
The Technical Working Group is headed by John Gerald dela Cruz. (Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)