AES asks SC: Reverse ruling on purchase of PCOS machines

MANILA, Philippines – An electoral watchdog group has asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling upholding the P1.8-billion purchase of some 80,000 automated machines for the 2013 midterm elections.

The Automated Electoral System Watch filed a motion for reconsideration on July 4 at the SC, seeking a reversal of the High Court’s June 13 decision favoring the Commission on Elections. The SC said Comelec did not err when it exercised its option to purchase 82,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines from Smartmatic Corp and its local partner Total Information Management Corp on March 30.

But AES – one of the three groups that questioned the purchase before the SC – said Comelec cannot exercise its option to purchase because that option already expired after the original contract – signed by Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM in 2009 – lapsed on Dec 31, 2010.

The SC disagreed in June, however. The SC, voting 11-3, said the Comelec can still exercise its option to purchase. The High Court explained that the main contract could not yet be considered terminated because the poll body has yet to return a P350 million performance security bond to Smartmatic.

AES argued in its motion for reconsideration that the option to purchase has already expired as early as 2010 and hence Comelec should have just conducted public bidding. 

Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes previously said before, however, that they did not conduct public bidding due to lack of time and funds for a new set of PCOS machines. – Rappler.com