Amid allegations that she inserted a dangerous provision in the 2021 budget bill which may compromise the upcoming elections, Senator Imee Marcos on Monday said the procurement process remained intact.
“The process begins with procurement which, despite the persistent canard, remains entirely intact—the requisites of the National Procurement Law unchanged under Section 9,” Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms, said as she sponsored the proposed Hybrid Election Act.
“We reiterate the prospective system providers should still have to prove demonstrated capability and [has] successfully undertaken a prior electoral exercise here or abroad. We must at all cost avoid a failure of election caused by an incompetent or untested bidder,” she added.
Her remark came after it was reported that she was the lawmaker who inserted a provision in the general appropriations bill that would have waived election procurement safeguards next year.
Marcos did not directly address the allegation during her privilege speech.
The questionable provision had already been deleted by the bicameral conference committee, according to Senator Sonny Angara.
Marcos said that the proposed Hybrid Election Act also recognizes the “long-established” Department of Budget and Management procurement policy board rule of forgoing the requirement for a prior Single Largest Completed Contract “when a failure of bidding is imminent or monopolistic or novel requisites are observed” to open procurement to as many prospective bidders as possible.
“The bill requires less onerous proof of financial, technical, and organizational capability to conduct such exercise,” she added.
Under the proposed hybrid election system, appropriate technology will be used in voting, counting, and transmission of election results but manual tallying of votes at the precinct level will still be conducted in full public view.
“Each step of the election process must be open to scrutiny. Since 2010, we have given too much importance to speed and convenience at the expense of transparency,” said Marcos, a sister of Bongbong Marcos who filed an electoral protest against the victory of Leni Robredo in the vice-presidential bid during the 2016 polls.
If a discrepancy of at least 2% occurs between vote tallies done manually and transmitted electronically, an automatic recount for the position under question shall be undertaken, according to the bill.
The proposed measure shall cover the 2022 elections and all national, local, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao elections thereafter.
During a budget hearing in October, the Commission on Elections was asked if it would be ready to conduct “hybrid” elections in 2022 should a law be passed by Congress directing such.
“Although amenable kami for the hybrid… dahil nasa middle na kami ng preparation, kailangan namin sana may batas na by January, as early as January next year. Kasi [kung] more than January, admittedly, mahihirapan na po kami,” Abas said. “Kung halimbawa talaga maipasa siya, sana prospective na lang, for 2025 sana but not 2022.” — DVM, GMA News
