Manila – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has extended the deadline for the submission of bidding documents for the 2025 election automation project. The new deadline is now set for December 12, marking the second postponement from the original date.
According to Philippines News Agency, the decision to reschedule the deadline from November 28 to December 12 aims to provide prospective bidders more time to prepare their documents. The submission and receipt of bids will take place at the SBAC Secretariat Office, with the bid opening scheduled at the Palacio del Gobernador Building in Intramuros, Manila.
Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia emphasized that the extension was necessary given the project's complexity and the extensive requirements involved. The decision follows a draft resolution case against Smartmatic, an international service provider, distributed among the members of the Commission en banc for review. The case, filed last June, seeks to disqualify Smartmatic from participating in the bidding process. Petitioners include former Comelec commissioner Augusto Lagman, former DICT secretary Eliseo Rio, retired Col. Leonardo Odoño, and former Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines president Franklin Ysaac. Garcia stressed that the Comelec's decision would be based on evidence, jurisprudence, and facts, rather than public sentiment or rumors.