Commission on Audit findings on PhilSys national ID card production

What the audit found

As reported by Julie M. Aurelio of the Philippine Daily Inquirer on 10 July 2022, COA's 2021 audit report on the BSP found that the BSP and its contractor had not produced the required number of PhilSys cards. By the end of 2021 the BSP had delivered 27,356,750 pre-personalized cards, 76% of the 36 million annual requirement and a shortfall of 8,643,250. It had delivered 8,764,556 personalized cards worth P262.93 million to the PSA, 17.53% of the 50 million required for 2020 and 2021 ¹.

COA said the shortfall caused a "ripple effect" that delayed the PhilSys project. The report cited pandemic restrictions, technical issues, a lack of personnel to run card personalization machines and a limited supply of spare parts. Production was scheduled for 2021 to 2023 with a budget of P3.48 billion ¹.

In a statement dated 12 September 2024, the PSA said COA had cited its May 2023 audit report, which found that "subcontracting is not allowed under the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)" for printing national ID cards ⁸. As reported by Dianne Sampang of Inquirer.net on 13 September 2024, state auditor Anicleto Boleche Jr. told a Senate hearing that subcontracting was not allowed under the Bids and Awards Committee resolution attached to the agreement ⁷.

The official response

The BSP acknowledged COA's recommendations in the 2021 report. It said it was working with its contractor on timely delivery of consumables and spare parts, working with the PSA on system and connectivity issues, and had already imposed liquidated damages and penalties on the contractor ¹.

In September 2024 the BSP said it did not subcontract printing to AllCard. It said its own personnel ran the operation and AllCard supplied equipment, raw materials and technical support. It said COA's annual review of the BSP contained no subcontracting findings and that it had followed the agency-to-agency procurement rules under Republic Act No. 9184 ^5,7. The PSA repeated the BSP's position that it complied with those rules ⁸.

AllCard president Roy Ebora said the company had appealed the termination ³. In a company statement reported by GMA News on 30 August 2024, AllCard said it "has diligently complied with the contractual obligations" of its contract, that the termination may rest on erroneous or incomplete information, and that about 60 million cards had been produced ⁴.

Parliament

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III filed Senate Resolution No. 585, directing the Senate committee on good government and accountability to look into the delay in issuing national IDs. The Inquirer reported the filing on 4 May 2023 and said the resolution cited the COA figures for 2021 ².

During PSA budget hearings on 11 September 2024, Senate Finance Committee chair Grace Poe asked COA to submit its findings on the alleged breach of the PSA and BSP agreement. National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the PSA had released P1.4 billion to the BSP to print cards at P50 each, covering about 90% of the 55.5 million cards agreed ⁶. Mapa said the PSA learned of the AllCard arrangement only when operations began ⁷.

Follow-up audits and recommendations

COA recommended in its 2021 BSP report that catch-up plans be revisited from time to time, that production and delivery be sped up, and that backlogs be cleared to meet the agreement with the PSA ¹. The PSA statement of 12 September 2024 points to a May 2023 COA audit report on the subcontracting question ⁸. No public record found as of 19 October 2026 of a published COA follow-up that reports whether the 2021 recommendations were implemented.

Courts, tribunals and investigations

The BSP sent AllCard a termination notice dated 15 August 2024. The Monetary Board cited failure to deliver goods worth more than 10% of the contract price and authorized a blacklisting order. The P2.1 billion contract covered equipment and raw materials for 116 million cards over three years, and only 57.9 million pre-personalized cards were produced in 2022 and 2023 ³. The BSP computed P640.9 million in liquidated damages, and BSP general counsel Elmore Capule said the matter was under arbitration ³.

BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said arbitration confidentiality prevented the BSP from disclosing details ⁴. No public record found as of 19 October 2026 of an arbitral award or a court ruling in the dispute.

Where it stands now

The PSA said in December 2025 that more than 90 million Filipinos had registered and been verified for PhilSys, as reported by Toby Magsaysay of the Daily Tribune ⁹. As of April 2024 the PSA had delivered 50.06 million physical IDs and issued 45.16 million digital ePhilIDs, according to the Inquirer ³. The BSP said in September 2024 it was looking for a new supplier ⁵. No public record found as of 19 October 2026 of the name of a replacement supplier or the outcome of the AllCard arbitration.

Timeline