P867M released for ARMM poll automation

By Margaux Ortiz

The Department of Budget and Management has released more than P867 million for the automation of the August 2008 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Commission on Elections announced Wednesday.

Comelec spokesperson James Arthur Jimenez said the DBM's issuance of a Special Allocation Release Order for the amount of P867,329,000 meant that the Comelec could now initiate the bidding process for the automated election system in the Mindanao region.
Jimenez added that the bid documents would be made available to prospective bidders on Thursday.

“The Request for Proposal for the automation of the ARMM elections was drafted in close coordination with the Advisory Council and bears the council's stamp of approval,” Jimenez said.
He added, “In fact, the RFP was prepared to follow the council's recommendation that the ARMM elections should be fully automated using both Direct Recording Electronic, and Optical Mark Reader technology.”

The Advisory Council is the body of expert advisers created by Republic Act 9369 tasked to recommend to the Comelec which technology to use for the automation of the elections, Jimenez said