Government OKs P2.48 billion project to upgrade national ID system

A man gets his eyes scanned as part of the registration for his national ID at a Philippine Statistics Authority booth at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, in this file photo from September 2024.

Miguel De Guzman

MANILA, Philippines — The government has approved a P2.48-billion public-private partnership project to further develop and enhance the national identification system, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said yesterday.

The Philippine Digital National Identity (PDNI) project secured clearance from the Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Department of Finance and co-chaired by the Department of Economy, Planning and Development.

With the approval, the project will move to the procurement stage, where a competitive challenge will be conducted to allow other firms to submit offers for the project.

The competitive challenge is required because the PDNI is an unsolicited proposal from Unisys Public Sector Services Corp., the project’s original proponent. The government will invite competing offers until the fourth quarter of this year, with Unisys retaining the right to match the best offer.

The project will be implemented through a build-transfer-operate arrangement and will cover the upgrade, operation and maintenance of the national ID system.

It will include registration, card production, authentication services, technical onboarding and integration of private-sector relying parties, as well as the operation of the national ID system’s key information and communications technology infrastructure.

The project will have a 20-year concession following a six-month transition period.

Established in 2018 under the Philippine Identification System Act, the national ID aims to provide a single national identification system for all citizens and residents of the country.

Its implementation, however, has faced challenges, including delays in the rollout of physical ID cards.

In 2024, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas terminated its contract with All Card Inc. for failing to fulfill its commitments to supply national ID cards.

The PSA earlier said the government would deliver the physical cards as required under the law, while the printed electronic Philippine ID and digital national ID remain valid forms of identification.