The Philippine Statistics Authority tapped the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to produce 116 million pieces of blank cards over a period of three years to implement the national ID system.
BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa signed on Monday a memorandum of agreement for the printing of the blank cards at P30 apiece, or for a total cost of P3.4 billion.
Under the agreement, the BSP will produce 116 million pieces of cards over a period of three years. The national IDs are nontransferable cards that will be issued for free to all Philippine citizens or resident aliens registered under the PhilSys.
Around P30 billion will be needed for the full implementation of the national ID system.
Mapa said that once the BSP printed the blank cards, the PSA would handle the personalization of the cards. He said the people in charge of the personalization would undergo strict background investigations.
Diokno said the national ID system would be universally beneficial to all Filipinos because these would serve as their proof of identity and would also promote financial inclusion.