Malacañang: National ID to benefit millions of Filipinos

Millions of Filipinos will soon enjoy the benefits of the national identification system, Malacañang said Monday.

This as President Rodrigo Duterte is set to sign the bill that will create the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act on Monday afternoon.

Through the legislation, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said, “We hope to improve efficiency and transparency of public services and promote ease of doing business.”

“The Palace is pleased that millions of Filipinos will soon enjoy the benefits of the Philippine Identification System Act,” Roque said in a statement.

“For the ordinary Juan de la Cruz, the signing of this Act means that he will no longer have to present multiple identification cards simply to prove his identity,” he added.

Likewise, Roque said the streamlining of information in the new system “makes it likewise harder to commit identity theft or fraud.”

Under the proposed national ID law, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will collate the full name, sex, birthdate, address, citizenship and blood type of Filipino citizens and encode them in a centralized database. /cbb