The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Monday denied claims it subcontracted the national ID card project, saying BSP staff conducted the operation while AllCard Incorporated (ACI) provided the equipment, raw materials, and technical support.
In a statement, the central bank said it fully complied with the agency-to-agency procurement guidelines and its agreement with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for the project.
“The Commission on Audit (COA), which reviewed the transactions of BSP, did not include any findings related to subcontracting in its BSP Annual Review report. This is different from COA’s audit of PSA, which some parties are citing in their allegations and comments against the BSP,” it said.
The statement explained that “unfounded questions about subcontracting may be diverting attention from the actual issue: AllCard’s failure to fulfill the contract approved by the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Council, which AllCard bid for, won, and accepted.”
“This matter is currently under arbitration following AllCard’s filing in January 2024, restricting both parties from making public statements on certain issues under arbitration,” it said.
“The BSP assures the public that all its agreements and contracts are conducted with full transparency and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations,” it added.
BSP’s Monetary Board (MB) has issued a Notice of Decision to Terminate Contract, dated August 15, 2024, citing as grounds ACI’s “failure to deliver any or all of the goods specified in the contract, amounting to more than 10 percent of the contract price” and for failure to perform other obligations in the contract.
Government data show that more than 88 million Filipinos have already registered with the PhilSys and more than 52 million physical IDs have been issued and delivered.
