Senior Citizens, PWDs, and Indigent Households: First Recipients of the National ID

It has been more than a year since we featured House Bill No. 5060 or the Philippine Identification System Act.  This is the bill that will require all Filipinos to be issued a national identification card that will serve as their main identification for all government transactions, claims, use of government-mandated benefits, and applying for clearances from the NBI and PNP.   At that time, the said bill has just been signed and approved by the House of Representatives and was passed on to the Senate for deliberation.

While the country is eagerly awaiting the finality the National ID System Act, the Department of Finance (DOF) came up with an additional proposal to tap the ID as a means to determine an individual’s privilege to certain subsidies, discounts, and tax exemptions under the law.

How do these additional parameters affect the National ID System’s initial purpose?

Apart from the National ID being an all-in-one valid ID (except as a Driver’s License and Passport), the DOF is proposing that it contain biometrics data to determine a citizen’s entitlement to certain subsidies and benefits provided by the government.

For example, if a PWD is entitled to discounts on medicines, fare, and education, his (national) ID alone should be enough to determine his eligibility for such discounts.  Another possibility that the DOF is looking at is to activate an EMV (Europay-Mastercard-Visa) chip in the card.  Through this chip, the card can double as an ATM card where the owner may receive cash subsidies from the government, if he or she is legally entitled to such benefits.  It simplifies the identification and benefits disbursement process, both for the government and the recipient.

Do these new proposals affect the anticipated release and distribution of the IDs?

It does.

The issuance of the IDs will be done in batches.  Since the DOF has expressed its intention of tapping the National ID to address the long process of applying and claiming benefits for individuals with special needs, senior citizens and persons with disabilities are seen to be the first recipients of these IDs.  Soon after, members of the 5.2 million poor households that are not yet covered by the conditional cash transfer program of the DSWD will follow.

All in all, the government plans to provide IDs to the more than 100 million Filipinos in two years’ time, after the bill is enacted into law.

Who will issue the IDs?

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shall be responsible for the proper issuance of the ID cards.

We will keep this thread updated on the progress of the proposed National ID System.  If you have any questions or related information you would like to share, please feel free to send us a message.  We will do our best to find the answers for you.

Sources:

www.psa.gov.ph

www.dof.gov.ph

www.philstar.com

 

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The National ID System: Something To Look Forward To

In 2015, the House of Representatives approved House Bill No. 5060 requiring all Filipinos to be issued a national identification card.  This covers Filipinos in the country and those residing abroad.  It shall serve as the main identification of Filipinos and will be required for all government transactions such as applications for driver’s license and passports, SSS and GSIS claims, use of Philhealth privileges, and applying for a clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.

The bill has yet to be decided on by the Senate.

Currently, the general requirement for public and commercial transactions is for an individual to present at least two government-issued ID cards to validate his identity.  It would be easy for a Pinoy to simply present an SSS, GSIS, Philhealth, Driver’s License, Voter’s ID, Senior Citizen ID, or a Professional Regulation Commission ID if his livelihood, profession, or age has qualified him to own any of these.  Otherwise, a Postal ID or a Passport would also be required.  Seldom though that a person has at least two of any of the above IDs.

The need to have a national identification paved the way for the Unified Multi-Purpose ID Card (UMID) issued to SSS, GSIS, Philhealth, and Pag-IBIG members.  The UMID, however, discriminates against citizens who have not sought membership from any of the mentioned agencies, decreasing its merit as a national ID.  It leaves out the self-employed, unemployed, minors, and Pinoy workers abroad.

The national ID covers all citizens of the Philippines, regardless of their geographical location, employment status, skills, and age.  An individual’s national ID may be replaced only when:

• A child reaches the legal age of 18 years old;
• A woman who got married and wishes to adopt her husband’s last name as her own;
• A woman who has been granted annulment from her marriage and wishes to revert to her maiden last name;
• In case of loss or destruction.

It shall be made of tamper-proof and printed on security material and will be valid for life.

Some groups contested the national ID system as it is vulnerable to security issues such as violation of privacy and identity theft.  In order to address these concerns that threatened to nip the proposal in the bud, the bill included sanctions for imminent abuse of the system.

The entire nation is waiting for the Senate’s final decision on the proposal.  Meanwhile, let us hold on to our government-issued ID card/s, making sure that these are updated and valid all the time.

Do you agree that we, as a nation, must have a National ID System?  Tell us what you think!

Source: http://business.inquirer.net/192804/national-id-system