Drilon: Proposed national ID law has ‘enough safeguards’ to protect privacy

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Monday allayed fears that the proposed national identification (ID) system would compromise Filipinos’ rights to privacy, noting that pertinent provisions of the Data Privacy Act will still apply.

President Duterte is expected to sign into law this Monday the bill establishing a single and streamlined identification system in the country.

“We have provided enough safeguards to protect the individual’s right to privacy and to prevent unscrupulous persons from accessing confidential information,” said Drilon, the principal author of the law, in a statement.

Drilon earlier claimed that the law should not be viewed as a threat to security because the main objective of the bill is “to ensure efficient delivery of service and ease transactions with government

“This landmark legislation is meant to ensure efficient delivery of service and ease transactions with government agencies. I wish to thank the President for signing it into law,” he said.

The data that will be included in the national ID system would not be different from the information that currently indicated in all government-issued IDs, Drilon added.

Under the new law, a Common Reference Number (CRN) will be given to all Filipinos containing essential information such as full name, address, date and place of birth, sex, civil status, signature, CRN and date of card issuance, along with a recent photo.

Filipinos living and working abroad can register at embassy or consular offices in their countries of location to get their assigned CRN.

The application for the ID system shall be free of charge, as part of the government’s social responsibility, Drilon noted.   /vvp