Smartmatic,TIM given until Friday to resolve conflict

Posted on July 1, 2009 blogtopia

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jose_mari_antuñez_of_tim MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections has given the Netherlands-based Smartmatic Corp. and Filipino-owned Total Information Management Corp. (TIM) until Friday to decide whether or not they could push through with the automation contract for the 2010 elections.

Comelec chairman Jose Melo announced yesterday that money was the root of the fallout between the two companies, jeopardizing the automation of next year’s local and national polls.

Melo made the announcement after coming out from an hour-long meeting with officials of Smartmatic and TIM.

If the two companies cannot push through with the automation contract, Melo admitted that next year’s elections might be done manually because the Comelec no longer has the time to convene a second bidding for a new supplier of machines.

“I told them in a joking manner that they will be the one to decide on what type of marriage will they have – a marriage of convenience, a shotgun marriage or a real marriage,” Melo said.

“In the meeting, they aired each other’s sentiments. It all boils down to control of the money. Are you surprised? But we called them and they had the opportunity to talk, one after the other,” Melo told Comelec reporters.

The meeting, which Melo described as a “civil confrontation,” was attended by TIM president Jose Mari Antuñez, senior vice president Salvador Aque and lawyer Boy de Borja, and Smartmatic international sales director and project manager Juan Villa.

Last Monday, Antuñez had told Melo that TIM was withdrawing from its partnership with Smartmatic, citing “irreconcilable differences” and “loss of confidence.”

Smartmatic and TIM had won the lease contract to supply the 82,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the 2010 elections with its bid offer of P7.2 billion.

The Comelec had dropped its plan to replace TIM and partner with Smartmatic in undertaking the automation because this is not legally possible.

Melo expressed hope that all would still end well between Smartmatic and TIM, as both firms have expressed intention to pursue the automation.

“In my personal opinion, there is a 50-50 chance that they would come into accommodation of each other,” he added.

The poll chief said that “in an agreement or suggestion coming from the Joint Oversight committee, as far the technical matters are concerned, this must be in the control of the foreign company because it is the expert.”

He, however, could not immediately ascertain which party should have control over finances.

Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said the rift was “basically on the operational disbursement – who will decide on spending.”

Ferrer had suggested that the Comelec act as arbiter in case of a deadlock in decision-making, but this was shot down by Melo who claimed the agency should not be involved in matters of private companies.

Philstar