BIZ BUZZ: Longer wait ahead for national ID cards

If you’re frustrated because you still haven’t received your plastic national ID card, then you may be in for even more frustration.

That’s because according to the grapevine, even after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) terminated its contract with supplier All Card Inc. (AllCard)—citing supposed substantial delays in deliveries—AllCard is trying its best to keep the contract alive.

To recall, at the time the contract was terminated last August—four years after it was awarded—AllCard delivered 49.9 percent of its commitment to supply raw materials for the production of 116 million blank cards.

The card supplier justified the delays, pointing to, among others, production challenges caused by the pandemic.

Indeed, in hopes of reversing the contract termination, AllCard filed for arbitration, proceedings of which are ongoing.

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Biz Buzz sources say BSP lawyers are exhausting all legals means to get a favorable ruling from the arbitration tribunal, so that the National ID project would not suffer any more delays.

For the regulator, that can only happen if the government will be allowed to move on and tap another supplier.