Rep. Rene L. Relampagos, joins the call of the House of Representatives for a national ID for all Filipino citizens, whether living in the Philippines or abroad, including those with dual citizenships.
The proposed national ID or the Filipino Identification System or, simply, “FilSys”, established with the latest developments in identity management, information and communications technology, and cyber security, will eliminate multiple government identification systems and requirements, reduce redundancies and delays in government services and transactions, bring down administrative costs and expenses, promote greater convenience to the public, facilitate private business, and prevent the use of false or stolen identities, while upholding and securing, at all times, the right to privacy, confidentiality, and access to registered information. The card itself is tamper-proof.
Under this measure, Filipinos will be required to register under the FilSys. Registered adult Filipinos shall then be issued Filipino Identification (ID) Card or “FilID” which shall serve as the official government-issued identification document in dealing with national government entities, local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations, government financial institutions, and private institutions or establishments. Upon presentation of the FilID, no other government-issued ID shall be required in order to avail of services from, or transact business with, the government.
“This is a mandatory law. Upon reaching the age of majority, all Filipinos should apply for a FilID. To ensure full implementation of the law, there will be massive information campaign. Local government units will be supported so that the local civil registrar offices will have the capacity to take all applicants and have sufficient technology support for the biometric requirements,” Rep. Relampagos elaborated.
In the end, the law establishes a Filipino Registry System.
He continued, “This integrated FilID is very convenient, practical and cost-efficient. It eases a lot of transactions and saves the Filipinos a lot of time and resources in securing individual IDs from various agencies let alone get separate replacements when lost. I foresee this also as an important counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency tool.”
The proposed FilSys aims to gradually synchronize and consolidate all existing government-initiated identification systems into one integrated and efficient identification system. Hence, the pertinent details of applicants with preexisting government-issued ID or available biometric information shall be harmonized, utilized and honored as reference in the issuance of the FilID. These agencies include the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Commission on Elections (COMELEC), National Privacy Commission (NPC), Philippine Regulations Commission (PRC), PhilHealth, Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF or PAG-IBIG Fund), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Local Civil Registrar Office (LCRO), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and Philippine Postal Services (PPS).
“Most importantly, the whole process of application to the issuance of cards will be free of charge,” he added. “Charges will only apply in case of replacement of cards upon grounds mentioned in the law such as change in some information and loss of the card itself, among others.”
“We expect to pass this proposed measure on third reading at the House of Representatives after the budget deliberations which we expect to finish by Tuesday next week,” the third-term lawmaker said.