MANILA, Philippines – Indra Sistemas, one of the two bidders for the lease of more voting machines for the 2016 elections, demonstrated its optical mark reader (OMR) machine and election management system to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday, December 5.

Indra’s OMR machine is its version of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines, which were supplied by Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) Corporation in the 2010 and 2013 automated elections.

Indra on Friday demonstrated the end-to-end implementation of their initial technical proposal, including the operation of their OMR machine, to the Comelec bids and awards committee (BAC).

OMR voting machines, of which PCOS is an example, scan the ballots fed into it. It then counts the votes cast by voters by recognizing and counting the marks made on the ballots. In the case of past automated polls, voters shaded ovals beside the candidates’ names.

The Comelec is seeking 23,000 additional OMR machines to augment the existing 82,000 PCOS machines in its inventory for the 2016 polls.

Out of 5 firms that expressed intent to bid, only Indra Sistemas and Smartmatic-TIM were able to submit bids on time. The Comelec-BAC opened their respective bid proposals and eligibility documents on Thursday.

On Saturday, December 6, the Comelec BAC will open bids for the lease of 410 units of direct recording electronic (DRE) machines, which use touchscreen technology.

Indra’s lead counsel, lawyer Archivald de Mata, explained that Indra Sistemas was participating in the bidding process as a foreign bidder, and not in a joint venture with any other company.

“The Comelec allowed the participation of a foreign bidder, provided that [the bidder] appoint a reputable local representative or subsidiary here in the Philippines,” De Mata said.

“We appointed a branch, we have an Indra Sistemas branch here. That’s our local representative here in the Philippines,” he added.

As for concerns that the country’s elections would be placed in the hands of a foreign entity, De Mata cited Indra Sistemas’ reputation and track record as a technology provider.

“The intention is to improve [the election system] from the last elections. That is our goal here,” he said.

Indra Sistemas, SA, is a consulting and technology company based in Spain. According to its website, it has been operating in the Philippines for the past 18 years.

In 2014, Indra “provided support to 8 elections nationwide” in Colombia, El Salvador, and Spain, the company reported on its website. – Rappler.com