MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday announced the disqualification of the winning bidder for the supply of 520,000 bottles of indelible ink after the company failed to meet technical and chemical specifications.
This means that the second lowest bidder will qualify for the supply of indelible ink after PhilTint and Color Specialist Inc. failed in the post-qualification process, Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. said.
The contract was for P72.3 million.
If they don’t follow the requirements specified in the bid documents, this is a ground for disqualification, Brillantes said, referring to PhilTint samples that were erased from the finger after solvents were applied.
Citing the procurement law, Brillantes said the Comelec is allowed to choose the next lowest bidders to present samples for testing until such time that it finds one that can stand against application of any solvents.
Earlier, former Comelec lawyer Melchor Magdamo said PhilTint and Color Specialist Inc. has “controversial roots traceable” to OTC Paper Supply, the supplier of P690-million worth of ballot secrecy folders used in the first automated election in 2010. At the time, the Comelec scuttled its planned purchase of the overpriced folders costing P380 each.
Magdamo asked Comelec to closely monitor the procurement of indelible ink, indicating possible irregularity in the bid.
Acting on this information, Brillantes said the second lowest bidder will be asked to present the samples of indelible ink for testing to the Bids and Awards Committee in a post-qualification process before awarding the project. The next lowest bidders will follow.
Asked if the second lowest bidder is eligible for the procurement of indelible ink if the winning bidder has been disqualified, Brillantes said, “Yes.”
“We will just declare the second lowest bidder as the winning bidder, lalabas na siya ang (he will come out as) lowest bidder, and it will be posted,” Brillantes said.
The bidding rules state that, “In the event the samples of bidders with LCB (lowest calculated bid) did not pass the technical evaluation, the bidder with the second lowest LCB shall undergo post-qualification processes and testing of its sample, and so on and so forth until the lowest calculated responsive bid is finally determined.”
The same rules require that indelible ink must “contain at least 7% of the silver nitrate. The stain on the nail, cuticle, and the first joint of the finger (second distal phalanx) must not be removed completely by any of the solvents specified in Section VII of the Bidding Documents; otherwise, the bidder would be post-disqualified for submitting non-responsive technical bids in the form of samples.”
source: interaksyon.com
