Imee Marcos questions reputation of national ID supplier

Senator Imee Marcos questioned Friday why the government awarded the contract for the national ID system to a foreign firm with a bad track record.

Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on electoral reforms, said Indian firm Madras Security Printers and its Philippine partner Mega Data Corporation were the only qualified bidder for the Philippine identification system (PhilSys) project the bidding regulations were changed in the middle of the game.

“Unless NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) and the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) clarify this at once, public skepticism towards the national ID could scuttle the pre-registration phase that begins on Monday (October 12),” she said.

Marcos said that according to the Philippine Computer Society Foundation data, the bidding for the national ID supplier needs an on-premises system wherein a data center is physically placed at a selected site. It was then changed and included remote hosting of data in a cloud-based system.

This change forced other bidders to back out, and the Madras-Mega Data was the only one left.

Marcos said Madras, an Indian firm, has a tarnished reputation after failing to deliver half a million cards for the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority’s driving license project.

Also read: Over 30 provinces priority for national ID system – DILG

Imee Marcos questions reputation of national ID supplier

The senator added that Madras also reportedly supplied mark-of-quality stamps to the Kenya Bureau of Standards that were easy to tamper with.

“This could be another Smartmatic situation. We have to be one step ahead of identity theft and financial fraud, from the choice of ID card material to system installation and maintenance,” said Marcos.

In July 2016, it was reported that Smartmatic funneled votes through “unofficial servers.”

In August 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Philippine Identification System Act, which mandates IDs for all citizens and foreign residents.

The president said the new National ID system or “Phil-ID” seeks to promote services’ efficient delivery and lessen corruption and red tape in government.

Philippine Statistics Authority said the national ID registration would begin next week. The agency aims to register five million Filipinos in the system by the end of 2020.