Proposed nal’t ID system gaining pace at House
Once passed into law, the proposed national identification system will require all adult Filipinos to secure a “Filipino ID card” containing personal information, such as their name, birth date, blood type, height, weight, and permanent address.
Besides such basic data, however, confidential information is to be stored in a corresponding database to be kept by government, including, among others, their email address, mobile number, marriage certificate, passport, social security and tax identification numbers, and even their parents’ birth certificate.
According to House Bill 6221, three sets of information shall be maintained under the Filipino Identification System or FilSys: on the card, in a smart chip embedded in the card, and in an electronic database kept and administered by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
On the card itself, the available information will be the following:
- Cardholder’s Common Reference Number (CRN)
- Full name
- A front-facing photograph
- Sex
- Birth date
- Birthplace
- Permanent address
- Blood type
- A barcode
In the smart chip embedded in the card, the following additional information shall be retrievable:
- Owner’s enrollment date
- Marital status
- Parents’ full names
- Height
- Weight
- Distinguishing features
- Tax Identification Number
The chip will also contain a record of the cardholder’s biometrics information, which includes scans of their fingerprints, an iris scan and a “facial image exception code.”
A PSA-administered database will keep other private data, including the cardholder’s temporary mailing address, email address, mobile number, spouse’s CRN, marriage certificate reference number, parents’ CRNs and marriage certificate number, as well as other relevant information to “prove filiation,” including paternity, maternity and legitimacy or illegitimacy of a child.
The database will record other personal circumstances, such as the owner’s voter’s identification number, Philippine passport number, Philhealth membership number, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) registration number, and social security number.
It will further include driver’s license number, Pagibig membership number, and “such other information as the pertinent authorities may require for the purpose of attaining the objectives of the FilSys.”
What are the uses of the card?
House Bill 6221 states that it may be used for: acknowledging any document before a notary public; taking an oath of office upon election or appointment to any position in the government service; applying for and receiving any license, certificate or permit from any public authority; paying any tax or fee, or receiving any money sourced from any public fund; entering into any other transaction with a government agency or office.
The PSA shall serve as repository and custodian of all data and all civil registry records, and shall institute the necessary measures to safeguard the information, according to the measure.
The bill was passed on second reading on Wednesday evening.
In her sponsorship speech, Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones, chair of the population and family relations committee, said the objective was a “single, unified and streamlined national ID system” that would simplify public service, and reduce redundancy and delays in government transactions.
In defending the bill, Aragones said concerns about private information leaking out were unwarranted, considering there was already an existing law protecting the public’s private information: the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
“There is a law that will guard the security of our data,” Aragones said.
The congresswoman said the national ID system would streamline public service and “provide a valid proof of identity and an efficient official identity verification of all citizens” with the goal of synchronizing and consolidating all existing ID systems.
During the debate, Makabayan lawmakers raised objection to the bill, saying it could breach the public’s privacy rights. “Our information can be hacked, tampered with, and used by people whose objectives are not good,” Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said.
Zarate recalled the massive security breach of the Commission on Elections website that compromised the private information of millions of registered voters in March 2016.
“That is why this bill is so concerning and outright scary,” he said during the plenary debates.
ACT Rep. Antonio Tinio said a national ID system would move the Philippines one step closer to becoming a “police state.” JPV
