The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the termination of its printing contract with AllCard Inc. (ACI) was justified because of delays on the part of ACI.
The BSP said Saturday, Sept. 21, that it had to terminate its business deal with ACI to “protect the interests of the government” via the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as the lead agency implementing the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) project.
“Terminating the contract allows the PSA the freedom to explore other options to expedite the production and delivery of national ID cards. Attempts to revive the contract with a supplier that has already failed to deliver will only further delay PSA’s plans to address backlogs,” said the BSP.
Meanwhile, the BSP said it has yet to receive an official copy of a “reported order” from the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City. Based on news reports, the said RTC has issued a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against BSP in favor of ACI.
The BSP said it will “act accordingly once the official order, if any, is received.” ACI apparently sent BSP a copy of the TRO last Sept. 18.
“Other issues being raised distract from these basic facts,” said the BSP, citing its printing of the National IDs to help PSA and its strict compliance to procurement guidelines.
“AllCard has initiated arbitration proceedings, in which BSP is actively participating. This arbitration is the appropriate forum to resolve the issues, and the proceedings at the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center are confidential in accordance with its rules,” said the BSP.
The BSP reiterated the following points in its printing of the National IDs: it has properly conducted a public bidding process for a lease and supply contract which AllCard won and accepted; it has fully complied with Agency-to-Agency Procurement Guidelines under Republic Act No. 9184; and the BSP and PSA conducted the printing and personalization of the cards and did not subcontract any operations related to the printing of the National IDs to AllCard.
In addition, it noted that “AllCard’s role was limited to providing equipment, raw materials, and technical support.”
“BSP’s procurement of these resources from AllCard was duly reported to the PhilSys Council, chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority and co-chaired by the PSA,” it said.
Last Sept. 9, the BSP already issued a statement that emphasized it did not subcontract to ACI. BSP said its personnel conducted the operation while ACI provided equipment, raw materials, and technical support.
The central bank also noted that the Commission on Audit (COA), after reviewing its transactions, found no subcontracting issues in its annual review report.
The BSP prints the National ID cards which are free. It costs the government P30 per card. The card production is done at the BSP’s Security Plant Complex in Quezon City where banknotes are also printed.
The BSP has encountered delays in the printing of the National ID several times in the past. ACI won the contract bidding in 2020 for the printing of 116 million National IDs.
As of Sept. 19, 2024, the PSA reported that there a total of 90,017,181 registered Filipinos for the National IDs.
The PSA also recorded 53,712,783 National ID cards delivered as of Sept. 6.