Another ‘Smartmatic’? Imee questions reputation of nat'l ID supplier

Senator Imee Marcos on Friday questioned why the government awarded the contract for the Philippine identification system (PhilSys) to a foreign firm whom she alleged has a bad track record in other countries.

Marcos, chairperson of the Senate committee on electoral reforms, said Indian firm Madras Security Printers and its Philippine partner Mega Data Corporation remained the only qualified bidder for the national ID project after the bidding rules 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 in a statement.

Citing data from the Philippine Computer Society Foundation, Marcos said the bidding process for the national ID supplier initially required an on-premises system wherein a data center is physically set up at a selected site, but this was later modified to include remote hosting of data in a cloud-based system.

The change left the Madras-Mega Data the lone bidder, as others dropped out due to lack of time to make the necessary modifications that were required, she added.

The senator said the Indian firm Madras' reputation was marred with controversy in Bangladesh where it allegedly failed to deliver half a million cards for the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority’s driving license project.

She added that the company also reportedly provided mark-of-quality stamps to the Kenya Bureau of Standards that were easy to tamper with—allowing the entry of smuggled goods in the country.

"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.

The senator was referring to Venezuela-based Smartmatic which has been the country's poll technology provider since the Philippines first implemented a nationwide automation of the elections in 2010. 

President Rodrigo Duterte previously said he wanted another contractor to replace Smartmatic after glitches marred the voting process and electronic transmission of results in the May 13 midterm elections.

The PSA would start the national ID registration next week and targets to register five million Filipinos in the system by the end of 2020.—AOL, GMA News