The government will start the implementation of the Philippine National ID System in September this year, the Palace said on Thursday, hoping that it will benefit six-million Filipinos.
“The President was agreeable to the establishment of one. And I think it will start in Sept. 2019 with a target of six-million Filipinos for registration this year,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a Palace press briefing.
According to Panelo, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said that having a national ID is “very critical” for the country’s security.
“He [Esperon] then suggested that the Department of Information and Communications Technology should take the lead on cybersecurity. And the security of data be taken cared by the Philippine Statistics Authority with the help of DICT,” he added.
“The President has ordered the best and safest system of the implementation of the National ID System,” he added.
Amid problems in security which caused the delay of its implementation, the Palace official assured the public that its implementation will be “on time” and will not be used against left-leaning personalities or enemies of the State.
“Our security agency is in-charge there. And Secretary Esperon said we can be sure that there will not be a snafu in security,” he said.
In August 2018, Duterte signed into law the Philippine Identification System Act, hoping to promote good governance, enhance governmental transactions, and create a more conducive environment for trade and commerce.
He believed the establishment of the so-called “Phil-ID” will curtail bureaucratic red tape, promotes the ease of doing business, averts fraudulent transactions, and somehow reduce corrupt acts in government offices.
The Palace had already maintained that its establishment will enhance national security, prevent identity theft, and promote the delivery of goods and services from the government to the public.
Under the law, the Phil-ID will collect the demographic data of every Filipino such as full name, sex, date of birth, blood type, home address, and citizenship. Marital status, phone numbers. Email addresses, however, will be optional.
Additional details will also be recorded such as the biometric information, front-facing photograph, full set of fingerprints, other identifiable features, and even iris scan.
A month before Duterte signed the measure into law, the Social Weather Stations found that majority of Filipinos, at 73 percent, supported the creation of a national ID system.
The Phil-ID is the Duterte administration’s central identification platform aiming to simplify both public and private services.