Sacked national ID supplier vows to address backlog in a year

MANILA, Philippines — AllCard Inc. (ACI), the supplier of national identification cards under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), vowed on Monday to erase any backlog within 12 months after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently decided to cancel its contract.

In a statement, ACI said it was fully capable of meeting the deadline despite the disruption due to “unforeseen challenges” and the ongoing arbitration case.

“AllCard was on track to meet its production goals until the discovery of some perceived defects, which we immediately brought to the attention of the BSP,” said ACI president Roy Ebora.

READ: BSP terminates contract with national ID cards supplier ACI

“We have the infrastructure, experience and determination to fulfill our obligations and help the BSP and (Philippine Statistics Authority) provide these essential IDs to the Filipino people by 2025,” Ebora said.

Citing its extensive track record, the firm also called for a comprehensive review of its performance under the contract. It touted its successful contracts for major institutions such as the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Unified Multi-Purpose Identification cards and drivers’ licenses for the Land Transportation Office.

The BSP, in a termination notice dated Aug. 15, ended the contract with the company for its supposed “failure to deliver any or all of the goods specified in the contract, amounting to more than 10 percent of the contract price.”

It said only 57.9 million prepersonalized national ID cards were actually produced between 2022 and 2023, 58.1 million short of the targeted 116 million cards for Filipinos. This resulted in a production loss of P1.06 billion, equivalent to 49.91 percent of the contract amount awarded to ACI.

But the firm filed a motion for reconsideration, urging the BSP to rethink its decision.

It has two contracts under the national ID program, Lot 1 for the production of blank cards—which has already been canceled—and Lot 2 for the printing of these cards.

ACI also maintained it was not responsible for errors on the cards such as misspelled names, poor image quality, inconsistent document formats, saying it does not have any control over the data given to it.

The BSP, meanwhile, denied allegations that it “subcontracted” the production of national IDs to ACI, arguing that central bank workers produced the cards themselves using the equipment and raw materials from the sacked supplier.

“BSP personnel conducted the operation, while ACI (AllCard) provided equipment, raw materials and technical support,” it said. —with a report from Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral