Solon wants national ID mass registration to begin before June 30

1-Pacman party-list Rep. Michael “Mikee” Romero. INQUIRER.net file photo / RYAN LEAGOGO

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker proposed on Thursday that the mass registration for the country’s National ID System begin no later than June 30 this year.

Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero said that the mass registration could start in smaller local government units in Metro Manila such as Pateros, San Juan, and Marikina and selected barangays in Quezon City and Manila.

“Despite inherent data limitations of the National ID System or PhilSys, I suggest to Acting NEDA Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua that he direct the Philippine Statistics Authority to start mass registration within 60 days or not later than June 30 this year,” Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero said in a statement.

After the mass registration in the said areas, Romero said that sign-ups can extend to other LGUs.

“This way, we get something done fast or target the ‘low-hanging fruits’ first,” Romero said.

Further, Romero said that he is also preparing a bill to amend the National ID law “so that the ID can be more useful, especially for selecting and targeting beneficiaries for government aid and services, as a stand-alone ID card,” comparing it to the national ID of Singapore.

“The national ID’s last digits could be used to determine who can go out of their homes for quarantine, where the ID is already the quarantine pass. A more functional ID can help save lives,” Romero said.

According to Romero, the current design of the National ID system can only be used to ascertain the identity of recipients of COVID-19 cash grants and other assistance.

No income, employment, or other status information are authorized to be collected for the PhilSys, said the lawmaker.

This means that the national ID cannot be used for targeting or qualifying recipients of government aid mainly due to the data limitations as stated in Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act.

“When Acting NEDA Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua goes into the details of the National ID, I am sure he will discover that it has serious data limitations,” Romero said.

As per the RA 11055, the only data allowed to be collected are as follows:

Demographic data: Full Name, Sex, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Blood Type, Address, Filipino or Resident Alien, Marital Status (optional), Mobile number (optional), Email address (optional);

Biometric Information: Front Facing Photograph, Full set of fingerprints, Iris scan.

“To be partly useful for qualifying beneficiaries as it is designed now in RA 11055, the National ID still has to be used in combination with other databases,” Romero said.

Edited by JPV