THE Bangko Sentral ng PIlipinas (BSP) yesterday, August 30, said its contract with AllCard Incorporated (ACI), the supplier of national IDs, is the subject of a pending arbitration.
The central bank said, “In light of the confidentiality of arbitration, BSP is prohibited from disclosing matters relating to the proceedings.”
It was Finance Secretary Ralph Recto who confirmed on Thursday, August 29, that the BSP had terminated its contract with the national ID supplier.
Recto said the decision was “due to the supplier’s non-compliance with the contract.”
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said it remains committed to making sure that all registered Filipinos receive their national ID.
The PSA advised the public that aside from the physical ID, the national ID can be acquired in other formats.
Registered individuals can get their ePhilID from registration centers while the Digital National ID can be downloaded through https://national-id.gov.ph.
Some 50 million national IDs have been delivered, the PSA said on March 15.
The state statistics bureau hopes to sign up some 92 million Filipinos to the national ID system by the end of the year.
For his part, former Senator Ping Lacson said ending the contract with AllCard should not end with “a simple termination.”
“Following proper legal procedures, sanctions with commensurate damages must be imposed,” he stressed.
He added: “Failure to fully implement the Philippine Identification System Act (RA 11055) six years after its passage is unacceptable.” (ABS-CBN News)
