Senate passes National ID system

Voting 17-2, the Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading the bill that would establish a national identification system.

The lone oppositors to Senate Bill No. 1738, or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act of 2018, were Senators Francis Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros.

The House had already approved its own version of the ID bill last year.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, sponsor of the Senate measure, hoped that the House would adopt the Senate measure so it would be an enrolled bill by next week, just awaiting the President’s signature.

Deterring criminality

The Senate measure aims to institute a single offical identification card for all Filipinos and foreign residents in the country, making it easier for people to transact business with government and private institutions.

Lacson said the national ID system would help deter criminality and that its purpose had nothing to do with stopping security threats to the government.

Under the measure, every Filipino and resident alien will have an identification based on a PhilSys number, or PSN, a randomly generated, unique and permanent ID number.

The country already has a unified multipurpose ID, which is issued to members of the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and the Home Development Mutual Fund. —CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO