BSP terminates contract with national ID card supplier

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has terminated its contract with the supplier of the national ID cards for failure to deliver on its commitments.

Sources from the BSP confirmed that the Monetary Board canceled the contract with All Card Inc. (ACI), the same supplier involved in the driver’s license card mess last year.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) confirmed the termination.

PSA is leading the implementation of the national ID in partnership with the BSP for the production of the national IDs and the Philippine Postal Corp. for delivery.

“The PSA trusts the assessment and decision of the BSP to terminate its contract with their supplier for the national ID card production,” national statistician Dennis Mapa said in a Viber message.

BSP sources explained that the termination of contract was due to ACI’s failure to deliver the raw materials needed as well as manage the maintenance of machines, which led to longer downtime.

Last month, BSP Governor Eli Remolona told reporters that the central bank terminated the contracts after the supplier was not able to deliver its commitments.

“This is a real problem. We are negotiating for damages and at the same time we are looking for a new vendor for this contract,” Remolona said.

The PSA, for its part, emphasized that it is taking the necessary measures for the continuous issuance of national IDs.

“Different formats of the national ID are also available for registered persons, such as the ePhilID, which can be obtained from registration centers and the recently launched digital national ID,” Mapa said.

“We affirm our unwavering commitment to delivering a reliable and secure national ID system, ensuring that every registered person will receive their national ID,” he said.

Following the contract cancellation, a source from the BSP said the case will go into arbitration after ACI filed a motion for reconsideration.

This is not the first time that ACI was involved in a supply mess issue. Last year, ACI was disqualified for the delivery of driver’s license cards even after submitting the lowest bid.

This came after ACI’s delayed delivery on the national ID was also raised.

Initiated by the Duterte administration in 2018, the national ID system aims to provide a valid proof of identity for Filipino citizens and resident aliens of the Philippines.

The establishment of the national ID system is mandatory as it will integrate processes, systems and services.

Latest data showed that some 88.98 million Filipinos have already registered to the system, with nearly 53 million physical IDs delivered.