AMID questions on the capability of the service provider for the May 2025 national and local polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday said the companies left in the joint venture led by Miru Systems are more than capable of completing the automated election system (AES) project.
In an interview, Comelec chairman George Garcia said Miru Systems, along with local partners Integrated Computer Systems (ICS) and Centerpoint Solutions Technologies, Inc. (CPSTI), have the capacity to complete the project as seen in the replacement Net Financial Contracting Capacity (NFCC) they submitted.
“The NFCC submitted by Miru Systems amounts to more or less P20 billion, even as their requirement is only P17.98 billion,” said Garcia, adding that this is “way more than the commitment of the joint venture to the project.”
In the copy of the NFCC submitted by Miru, it showed that the actual amount from ICS is around P19.5 billion.
“The remaining partners to the oint Venture wish to highlight and emphasize that the foregoing ICS’s NFCC amounting to P19,508,144,806.50 is more than sufficient to cover the P17,988,878,226.55 contract amount,” said Miru.
The assurance was issued on the heels of the withdrawal of the St. Timothy’s Construction Company (STCC) from the joint venture, which bagged the poll automation contract.
Miru previously stated that the STCC was the one that provided the NFCC for the AES project.
The withdrawal of STCC, thus, prompted the Comelec to require the remaining members of the joint venture to submit a replacement NFCC.
The Right to Know, Right Now! Coalition (R2KRN) has questioned the capability of the remaining members of the joint venture, including their financial capacity to complete the project.
Garcia said the Comelec en banc will still evaluate the submission of the replacement NFCC to see if it satisfies their requirement.
“We will be looking at the attached contracts and will subject them to verification later on to see if it is in compliance with the Comelec resolution,” said Garcia.
