UPDATE: COMELEC identifies bidders for automated 2010 elections
8 foreign and 2 local firms have expressed their intentions to supply the automation machines for the 2010 presidential and national elections.
The COMELEC identified the 8 foreign firms as:
- Total Information Management and Smartmatic (US-based)
Smartmatic, along with Avante, handled the atuomated alections in the ARMM in August 2008.
- Avante International Inc.
- Syrex Corp. and Scantron (US-based)
- DVS Philippines and Samsung (South Korea0based)
- Indra Systems SA (Spain-based)
Indra’s most recent elections project was the polls in Galicia, Spain last March 1. It has also provided IT management tools to airports and companies in Europe.
- Universal Storefront Services Co. and Sequoia (US-based)
- All Data Hub International Inc.
- Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Israel-based)
COMELEC has also identified the 2 local firms as:
- AMA Group Holdings Corp. and ES&S International
AMA Group is known as one of the pioneer IT educational institutions in the country. Its partner, US-based ES&S International has supplied IT solutions and polling machines in elections in the US and UK.
- Mega Data Corp.
Mega Data Corp. has supplied IT solutions to government agencies such as the LTO and NBI, as well as major banks. It also designed the Botong Pinoy program, a computerized voting system which uses three stages of verification to eliminate fraud.
Source: PDI, March 27, 2009.
