Red flags reportedly abound in the joint venture between a Pasig-based firm and an American tech company which was endorsed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) bids and awards committee to handle the online voting and counting system contract for the 2025 elections.
The joint venture between SMS Global Technologies Inc. (SMS GT) and Sequent Tech Inc. had the lowest offer among the four bidders that took part in a public bidding on April 2. The Comelec approved a budget of P465.8 million for the contract but Sequent-SMS GT had a proposal of P112 million.
The other qualified bidder for the project, the joint venture of Voaltz, Inc., ePLDT and eBiZolution Inc., placed a bid of P435.5 million.
A closer look at Sequent-SMS GT raises doubts on its ability to ensure that the first ever online voting for Filipinos overseas would proceed smoothly.
A check of the Delaware State Department’s website showed that Sequent owes $89,206.44 (nearly P5.2 million) in taxes to the state based on its latest annual report. The company also reportedly earned $278,000 (around P16.1 million) in 2022 and recorded losses of $94,518 (almost P5.5 million) in the same year.
Sequent’s financial woes should’ve disqualified it from obtaining a Philippine tax clearance and a platinum registration on PhilGEPS, the online portal for information on government procurement, yet it was still allowed to take part in Comelec’s bidding for the online voting system.
Sources also questioned how Sequent-SMS GT was able to bid P112 million for the project given its complex requirements— from cloud computing hosting, the availability of an alternate back-up server, full cyber security measures, biometric authentication licenses, 24/7 technical support to voters worldwide, and the provision of laptops and printers for each embassy and consulates.
According to tech experts, P100 million wouldn’t even cover the cost of having cloud services for several months.
Ahead of the formal awarding of the contract, hiccups already marred Sequent-SMS GT’s public demo of the technology it proposes for the online voting.
On the livestream of the demo on Comelec’s Facebook page, Sequent-SMS GT failed to use the configuration data provided by the poll body to all vendors. This resulted in the mismatch of information and positions on the printouts for election returns and certificate of votes.
Sequent-SMS GT was also remiss in following the terms of reference with regard to a system audit by a legitimate third party certifying agent, as well as the presence of a certificate of a government electoral authority that the system has been used before.
The joint venture likewise failed to present an ISO 14001 certificate, which the Comelec requires.
