Senator Grace Poe urged the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to lay down their plans to ensure the continuous printing and release of national IDs amid the legal challenges with a private supplier.
Poe pointed out that around 116 million IDs were supposed to be printed since the national ID program started in 2021. However, only 67 million have been issued to date.
The BSP on August 15 issued a termination notice to AllCard Inc., the private firm it contracted to print the IDs, due to the latter’s “failure to deliver any or all of the goods specified in the contract”.
However, a Quezon City Regional Trial Court last week ordered a stop to the contract’s termination.
“Dapat talaga ay magsabi ng totoo ang Central Bank kung ano ba talaga ang naging problema dito. Totoo ba yung sinasabi nila na hindi ito subcontracted. Malinaw naman na mayroong ibang gumawa,” the veteran legislator said.
“Tuloy-tuloy na rin sana yung printing ng ating IDs. Matagal na itong hinihintay ng ating mga kababayan.”
“Tuloy-tuloy na rin sana yung printing ng ating IDs. Matagal na itong hinihintay ng ating mga kababayan, at pondo ng taumbayan ang nakataya rito,” the seasoned lawmaker added.
The lady senator asks the BSP and the PSA about their next steps as they await the resolution to the legal case.
“If they cannot resolve it legally, will another agreement be made to print the cards?”
“If they cannot resolve it legally, will another agreement be made to print the cards? This will be an additional cost to the people and the government,” she stressed.
Poe also asked the Central Bank to shed light on reports that it contracted a firm based in Madras, India, for the ID printing.
“Gusto nating magkaroon ng diretsong sagot mula sa BSP. Iyong susunod nating hakbang ay ipatawag sila. Masyado nang atrasado ang national ID na sana ay nagagamit na ng ating mga kababayan,” she added.
