The Commission on Elections Special Bids and Awards Committee (Comelec-SBAC) has allocated P55 million for the procurement of Automated Election System (AES) Certification Services by an International Certification Entity for the May 2022 polls.
"The Comelec intends to apply the sum of P55,000,000 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payment under the contract for the Procurement of AES Certification Services by an International Certification Entity for the 2022 National and Local Elections through employment of Limited Source Bidding (LSB)," the Comelec said.
It added that bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at Bid Opening.
"Pursuant to Section 49 of the 2016 Revised IRR of RA 9184, the Comelec invites the following Pre-Selected International Certification Entities, as approved by the Commission En Banc on April 28, 2021 and acknowledged by the Government Procurement Policy Board on May 21, 2021, to submit bids for the subject procurement: PRO V & V, SLI Compliance, and TUV Rheinland Philippines, Inc," said the poll body.
"The Pre-Selected International Certification Entities (Bidders) should have completed, within the past six years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. Similar in nature shall mean contracts involving certification of a public automated election system," it added.
The Comelec said a complete set of Bidding Documents may already be acquired by the pre-Selected international certification entities at the SBAC Secretariat Office at the Comelec Annex Building in Intramuros, Manila from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It set the online pre-bid conference on July 7 at 10 a.m. via Microsoft Teams.
The opening of bids, on the other hand, is on July 19 at 10 a.m., to be done via Microsoft Teams.
The Comelec said the deadline for the submission of bids is on July 19 at 8 a.m., with the bidders to send and share them electronically to the SBAC Secretariat via [email protected].
Based on the Government Procurement Law, LSB may be used in the "procurement of highly specialized types of goods and consulting services, where only a few suppliers or consultants are known to be available, and such that resorting to the competitive bidding method will not likely result in any additional suppliers or consultants participating in the bidding."
The Poll Automation Law, meantime, states that the AES must be reviewed and certified by an established international certification entity not later than three months before Election Day.