Terminated National ID printing contract brought to arbitration

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday that its terminated contract with AllCard, Inc. (ACI) to print the National ID cards has gone to arbitration.

“The ongoing issue with ACI, concerning its failure to meet contractual obligations is now under arbitration,” the central bank said in a statement.

“This independent proceeding serves as the proper venue to resolve all issues raised by ACI, and the BSP shall abide by the decision of the arbitration committee.”

The BSP is in charge of printing the Philippine Identification System cards or the National IDs, while the PSA is responsible for gathering the data to be printed on the cards.

Last month, BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. said it terminated the contract with ACI after the latter failed to deliver on its contractual obligations.

In a separate statement, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the BSP “fully complied with the Agency-to-Agency Procurement Guidelines (Negotiated Procurement under Section 53.5 of the Implementing Rules of Republic Act No. 9184) and its agreement with the PSA for the printing of National IDs.”

Reports had claimed that the BSP subcontracted the printing of the National IDs to ACI.

“The BSP did not subcontract its obligations to ACI. BSP and PSA personnel managed the operations, while ACI provided equipment, raw materials, and technical support under a lease and supply contract,” the central bank said.

Government auditors assigned to review the BSP’s transaction did not find evidence of subcontracting, the central bank also said.

With the arbitration ongoing, the BSP will refrain from making any further public statements on the proceedings, it said.

Currently, the PSA has a 35-million backlog for the National ID cards, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa told a Senate hearing on Wednesday. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz