Dates and Events Relevant to the Procurement of the Automated Counting Machines

The following relevant dates and events were culled from the following documents and linked sites:

1.Decision of the Supreme Court in G. R. No. 159139, Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines vs. COMELEC promulgated January 13, 2004;

2.Ombudsman Supplemental Resolution on OMB-L-C-04-0922, Kilosbayan Foundation and Bantay Katarungan Foundation vs. Benjamin Abalos, et. al. dated September 27, 2006; and

3.Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Website.


These dates will aid in the analysis of the anomalies that attended the bidding process and the procurement of the automated counting machines.


June 7, 1995 – Congress passed Republic Act No. 8046, An act authorizing the Commission on Elections to conduct a nationwide demonstration of a computerized election system and pilot-test it in the March 1996 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and for other purposes.

December 22, 1997 – Congress enacted Republic Act No. 8436, An act authorizing the Commission on Elections to use an automated election system in the May 11, 1998 national or local elections and in subsequent national and local electoral exercises, providing funds therefor and for other purposes. 

February 9, 1998 – COMELEC promulgated Resolution No. 2985, Deciding against full national implementation and limited the automation to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 

May 1998 Elections – Automated election was conducted in the ARMM while the rest of the country was still on manual counting and canvassing of votes.

May 2001 – Elections
The counting and canvassing of votes for both national and local positions were also done manually, as no additional ACMs had been acquired for that electoral exercise allegedly because of time constraints.

October 8, 2001 – Executive Order No. 40 is signed.
Consolidating Procurement Rules and Procedures for All National Government Agencies, Government-Owned or –Controlled Corporations and Government Financial Institutions, and Requiring the Use of Government Electronic Procurement System

February 8, 2002 – Implementing Rules and Regulations of EO 40 is signed.

March 20, 2002 – IRR of EO 40 is released for circulation.

April 4, 2002 – IRR of EO 40 takes effect.

October 29, 2002 – Comelec adopted in its Resolution 02-0170 a modernization program for the 2004 elections.
It resolved to conduct biddings for the three (3) phases of its Automated Election System; namely, Phase I - Voter Registration and Validation System; Phase II - Automated Counting and Canvassing System; and Phase III - Electronic Transmission.

January 10, 2003 - Republic Act No. 9184 Republic Act No. 9184 Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) is signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

January 24, 2003 – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 172 Allocating the sum of P2.5 billion to fund the AES for the May 10, 2004 elections. Upon the request of Comelec, she authorized the release of an additional P500 million.

January 26, 2003 – Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA) takes effect

January 28, 2003 – COMELEC BAC issued an “Invitation to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid,” The Pre-Bid Conference was initially set on February 13, 2003 and the submission of applications for eligibility and bid envelopes was initially set on February 28, 2003.

February 5, 2003 – GPPB issued its opinion “that the procedures embodied in E.O. 40 and its IRR shall still apply until the IRR of the GPRA shall have been finally approved.”

February 11, 2003 – COMELEC Issued Resolution No. 5929 clarifying certain eligibility criteria for bidders.

February 14, 2003 – Eligibility criteria, Terms of Reference and other pertinent documents were released to interested bidders.

February 17, 2003 – COMELEC released the Request for Proposal (RFP)

February 18, 2003 – Pre-Bid Conference was held. Submission of bids was set on March 10, 2003.

February 27, 2003 – Mega Pacific eSolutions, Inc. was incorporated.

March 10, 2003 – Deadline for submission of bids.
57 bidders participated. 55 were disqualified; Mega Pacific Consortium and Total Information Management Corporation were found eligible by the BAC.

April 8, 2003 – DOST informed COMELEC that because the results of the automated counting in some precincts did not tally with the manual count there was a need to undertake a retest.

April 11, 2003 – COMELEC advised DOST to perform verification test in order to reconfirm the ACM count by conducting the retest/recounting of every precinct that contain ballots with discrepancies.

April 14, 2003 – DOST submitted to COMELEC its report on the result of the technical evaluation as well as the verification tests of both the Automated Counting Machines of MPC and TIMC

April 15, 2003 – The Financial Bids of the 2 Eligible Bidders were opened.

April 15, 2003 – COMELEC came out with its en banc Resolution No. 6074, awarding the project to Mega Pacific Consortium

April 21, 2003 – BAC submits its recommendation to the Commissioners

May 26, 2003 – 3rd Meeting of the GPPB.
“The members unanimously agreed that Government agencies are justified in applying E.O. 40 in the absence of the IRR of R.A. 9184 that in cases where invitations for bids were issued after the effectivity of R.A. 9184 but before the effectivity of its IRR, procuring entities may continue adopting the procurement procedures, rules and regulations provided in E.O. 40 and its IRR, or other applicable laws.”

May 29, 2003 – Five individuals and entities (including Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines) wrote a letter to Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos, Sr. protesting the award of the Contract to MPC “due to glaring irregularities in the manner in which the bidding process had been conducted.”

May __, 2003 – Comelec entered into a Contract entitled “The Automated Counting and Canvassing Project Contract” with Mega Pacific eSolutions, Inc.

June 6, 2003 – Comelec Chairman, through Atty. Jaime Paz, rejected the protest and declared that the award “would stand up to the strictest scrutiny.”

June 30, 2003 – The Automated Counting and Canvassing Project Contract was notarized.

October 8, 2003 - The Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 9184 takes effect.