Comelec told: Prove joint venture’s contract still follows 60/40 rule

The “Right to Know. Right Now!” coalition, led by journalist Malou Mangahas (right) and former Education Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan (second from left), went to Comelec’s head office on Nov. 5, 2024 to follow up on their request for documents proving that the P18-billion contract of a joint venture of local and international firms follows the constitutionally mandated 60/40 rule.

MANILA, Philippines — A coalition pushing for freedom of information has asked the Commission on Election (Comelec) to provide documents proving that the P18-billion contract held by a joint venture of local and international firms follows the constitutionally mandated 60/40 rule among other concerns.

The “Right to Know. Right Now!” coalition, led by journalist Malou Mangahas and former Education Undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan, went to Comelec’s head office in Manila on Tuesday, Nov. 5, to follow up on their FOI request since Oct. 9.

The issue was raised following the withdrawal of local company St. Timothy Construction Corporation from the joint venture.

“The requested information is material and necessary for us and the public to: (a) verify that the remaining partners retain the financial, technical, and operational capacity to meet their contractual obligations for orderly, honest, and credible elections; (b) confirm continued compliance with legal requirements such as the 60% minimum nationality requirement for joint ventures,” the coalition’s three-page letter read.

Malaluan noted that St. Timothy is “a major partner” and its withdrawal could affect the mandated 60/40 ratio.

The 1987 Constitution limits the foreign ownership of land and businesses to only 40 percent, setting aside the 60 percent exclusively for Filipino citizens or corporations.

“Under the original joint venture agreement, it states that 60 percent of the interest in this joint venture is for the account of the three local partners,” Malaluan said in an interview. “It does not say how much are the actual percentages with respect to each of the three local partners.”

To recall, St. Timothy withdrew from the joint venture last month with Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto’s claiming that the company owned by rival Sarah Discaya is an alleged “alter-ego” of St. Timothy.

READ: Sotto: Discaya firm’s past link to poll service provider a DQ ground

The two other companies that comprised the joint venture with Miru Systems Co. are the Integrated Computer Systems, Inc. and Center Point Solutions and Technologies, Inc.

Malaluan pointed out that the public needs to know if these two remaining Filipino firms can meet the 60 percent threshold.

“To us, it is not enough to say that they still comply with the 60 percent requirement,” Malaluan said.

“So we wish to know the details of those contributions so that we can validate any claim that they still comply with the 60-40. In other words, what we are saying is that, you cannot just claim that you meet that requirement,” he added. “We believe that you must be able to show the documentation that the contributions of each of the remaining Filipino partners still meet the 60 percent requirement.”

The coalition also sent the letter to Miru Systems Co.