National ID system for PH nears approval

Congress is on the brink of approving the first national ID system in the country.

The Senate is set to approve the Philippine Identification System Act on third and final reading before Congress goes on a break this week, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Sunday.

Lacson said that senators hoped the House would adopt the Senate’s national ID measure, which would allow Filipinos to have proof of identity that would enable them to make public and private transactions without any hassle.

“We are hoping the House will simply adopt the Senate version, ergo it becomes an enrolled bill next week before we go on a break,” Lacson said.

No privacy violation

Congress will go on a break on March 23, and will return on May 15 before it adjourns on June 1.

In a tweet also on Sunday, Lacson dismissed concerns that a national ID system would violate privacy of individuals.

“Those who claim that the Philippine national ID system will violate the people’s right to privacy ought to know that under the measure, only two questions are addressed: one, who are you? Two, are you who you claim to be?” said the senator, who sponsored Senate Bill No. 1738, or An Act Establishing the Philippine Identification System.

During his sponsorship of the measure, Lacson said the bill intended to harmonize, integrate and interconnect government IDs by establishing a single national ID system to be known as the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys.

Permanent ID number

The PhilSys aims to eliminate the need to present other forms of identification in public and private transactions, services and derivative identity credentials, he said.

“The bill would allow every Filipino and resident alien of the country to be identified with the use of a PhilSys number, or PSN, a randomly generated, unique and permanent ID number which shall be the standard number assigned to each individual to be incorporated in all ID systems of government agencies,” Lacson said in his sponsorship speech last week.

At present, the country has the unified multipurpose ID, or UMID, which is issued to the members of the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and Home Development Mutual Fund.