A Duterte ally in the House of Representatives on Friday said Congress has readied the needed funding requirement once the proposed measure establishing the Filipino Identification System (FilSys) is enacted.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said it is high time that Congress approved the national ID system.
He said terrorism has become the biggest threat to national and global security and so the government must have the tools to distinguish law abiding citizens from lawless elements—by having every Filipino citizen a national ID.
“There should no longer be a reason to delay the passage of the National ID system. We have enough funds to make it happen. We already passed it in the committee on appropriations which I chair,” said Nograles as he expressed confidence that the House of Representatives would soon debate and pass the measure in plenary.
“I am confident that after the House passage, the measure would be able to gain enough support in the Senate. We want to strengthen the country’s fight against terrorism and criminality,” Nograles said.
Nograles said that the FilSys would be machine-readable identification cards which could contain multiple data which can be used not just for identification but also for other government transactions. It can be used as a social security card, a tax information card, health card and other government-issued identification cards.
He added that through FilSys, the government will be saving millions of pesos that are spent in the production of different types of cards.
“Unlike before, identification cards can now be embedded with digital chips so instead of having too many cards, a person would need a single card for all his government transactions because all the needed information can be stored there. It is cheaper and definitely more convenient for both the government and our citizenry,” Nograles said.
At the same time, Nograles also agreed with President Duterte’s observation that it is easier to fight and defeat Islamic extremism in Mindanao through federalism. He said he believes the move to amend the Constitution and pursue and federal system of government will go full blast after the president delivers his State of the Nation Address.
Nograles noted that federalism would afford all regions equal opportunities in harnessing local human and natural resources in their quest for socio-economic development. This would also give Mindanao the opportunity to prove itself as a land of peace and development and not a breeding ground for terrorists and ruthless criminals.
He emphasized that poverty among Filipinos, in both urban and rural areas in the country, especially in Mindanao watered the growth of rebellion and now, radicalism and terrorism.
“The sense of hopelessness among the people, especially the overwhelming number of long-neglected poor in different parts of the nation is one big factor that pushed our brother-Filipinos to criminality and even take up arms against the government,” Nograles said.
