The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced on Monday that it aims to award the contracts for online voting and electronic transmission systems before the end of 2026 as part of early preparations for the 2028 national elections.
During a stakeholders forum in Manila, COMELEC Chairperson George Erwin Garcia detailed the timeline for the Online Voting, Counting System (OVCS) and Secure Electronic Transmission Services (SETS), noting that while an early award is preferred, the commission is prepared for potential bidding delays.
“Makapag-award tayo nang hindi ilalampas ang July at pinaka-latest first week ng August. O kaya naman, depende pa kasi minsan nakikaran ng failure of bidding. Kapag failure of bidding, tatlong buwan ulit,” Garcia explained.
The poll body chief emphasized the importance of securing these deals within the year to clear the way for the procurement of counting machines starting in August.
“So sinasabi natin at least man lang makapag-award tayo bago matapos ang taon na ito para sa OVCS at transmission so that ang counting machines masimula natin sa pagdating ng August at magco-procure na rin kami,” he added.
Garcia also introduced a new procurement strategy involving “early procurement activities,” which allows bidding to commence even before the final budget approval.
Under this plan, the commission intends to have an initial batch of 10,000 machines delivered by mid-2027—well ahead of the total 130,000 units required.
“Ang plano naming strategy ngayon, which is hindi pa ginawa before, kung ang kailangan nating machines ay 130,000, magpapadeliver muna kami sa middle of 2027 next year ng mga 10,000,” Garcia said.
This early delivery will enable the poll body to conduct rigorous stress and temperature tests to ensure the hardware can withstand local conditions before the full fleet is deployed.