The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) could face accountability for outsourcing the printing of national ID cards to a private company, Allcard Incorporated, according to Senator Grace Poe.
During the budget deliberation for the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and its attached agencies for 2025, National Statistician Dennis Mapa stated that this move violated the Memorandum of Agreement between the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the BSP.
Under the agreement, PSA was to pay BSP for the printing of the national ID cards, and it was stipulated that BSP was not allowed to subcontract the work.
It was reported that BSP received P1.4 billion from PSA to print the cards at a cost of P50 each, which covers approximately 90 percent of the 55.5 million cards agreed to be printed.
Attorney Anileto Boleche Jr. from the Commission on Audit (COA) also noted that the prohibition on subcontracting was stated in the resolution of the bids and awards committee. Upon learning of BSP’s actions, PSA was alerted.
Senator Poe further pointed out that Allcard was the same contractor responsible for delays in printing driver’s license cards for the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
She assured that senators will investigate the issue, particularly with the numerous complaints regarding IDs and driver’s licenses. Meanwhile, PSA is now coordinating with a different service provider to address the shortage of national IDs.