Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III —Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Saturday that he is recommending a review of the implementation of the national ID system to assess the program’s significance to the lives of the Filipinos.
According to the Senate Minority Floor Leader, as lawmakers, they can polish a legislation if there are many loopholes. This came after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) terminated its contract with AllCard Inc., the national ID card supplier.
“Our recommendation is to review the program, fix it and for the meantime, pause it. Press the pause button at this time. Let’s understand first what this is for,” Pimentel said in a radio interview with DWIZ.
READ: Senate probe eyed on terminated deal with national ID supplier
“How much is the cost already? Let’s stop the expense first, then fix it… Since we are legislators, if they say that this law is vague, tell us then and we’ll fix it,” the senator added.
READ: Netizens poke fun at national ID chaos after canceled deal with supplier
When asked if it is possible to review an existing law should there be any deficiencies, Pimentel said that it is possible with the implementation.
“That’s why we need to know. We listen to the implementers of this law, on what they see that is wrong or insufficient,” he noted.
Further, the senator said that he has not met anyone who is “happy” about their national ID. “I hope I’m wrong but I haven’t talked to anyone who who said he or she is happy about the national ID. They are happy that they have received their national ID after waiting for so many years but with regard to its use? How are they using it?”
Following the contract termination of the card supplier, many Filipinos shared their sentiments about the issues hounding the national ID system, like late delivery of cards and print quality.
The senator previously said that he is eyeing a Senate probe of the contract termination, saying that it could lead to further delays in the production and delivery of IDs. In the interview, he said that the probe can still happen even if they are on “recess.”
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) broke off its contract with AllCard Inc. for failing to meet its obligations under the deal, causing delays in production and delivery of national ID cards.