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The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has asked its special bids and awards committee (SBAC) to look into the ownership of F2 Logistics, the only company still in the running to acquire the contract for the transportation of Comelec supplies for the 2022 polls.
Comelec Chairman Sheriff Abas made the statement on Monday, August 23, following reports of the company’s ties to Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy, who donated P30 million to President Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016 Malacañang bid.
“Pinapa-check ko sa SBAC… Sabi ko nga sa aming SBAC, tingnan ninyo ‘yan kasi mainam din na klaro ‘yan,” Abas told reporters during the memorandum of agreement signing between the Comelec and Ayala Malls for the establishment of satellite registration sites inside malls.
(I told SBAC to check, it’s better to check their ties for clarity.)
But Abas said that the contract has yet to be awarded to F2 Logistics because the post-qualification process was still underway.
“Hindi naman automatic ‘yan na dahil contributor sa election, qualified na siya. Alam naman natin, karamihan ng mga negosyante, malalaking contributor ‘yan sa kwan. Hindi naman iyan automatic,” Abas added.
(It’s not automatic that just because he contributed in the elections, he’s already qualified. Many businessmen are big contributors to elections. That’s not automatic.)
The Comelec previously clarified that F2 Logistics only tendered the lowest calculated bid for the P1.61 billion logistics contract, edging out three other firms.
On August 19, Senator Leila De Lima filed a resolution at the upper chamber calling on Congress to investigate how F2 Logistics was chosen to undergo the post-qualification process.
“There is a need to avoid any semblance of conflict of interest and ensure that no supplier that participated in partisan political activities should be awarded with contracts connected to the conduct of our national and local elections,” De Lima said in a statement on Sunday, August 22.
The 2020 annual report of Uy’s Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corporation lists the tycoon as chairman of F2 Logistics.
F2 Logistics is also a subsidiary of Udenna Corporation, of which Uy is the chairman and president as of April 2021.
Rappler has reached out to Uy for a reaction. This story will be updated once he has replied. – Rappler.com
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