National ID system seen to benefit businesses

CEBU, Philippines — While the unified national identification system will soon benefit Filipinos, it will also help businesses once the system will be up.

In a phone interview, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Steven Yu said the system would help businesses gather more accurate statistical information.

"From the business aspect, a national and single database can also be helpful to businesses in assessing credit quality and gathering accurate statistical information," the businessman explained.

"Moving forward, as societies become digital, the benefits of this system will become more evident and shall I say, instrumental," he pointed out.

Last August 6, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Philippine Identification System Act, which will allow Filipinos to have national IDs soon.

In a related development, conglomerates Ayala Corp and Aboitiz Equity Ventures on Tuesday disclosed to the stock exchange that their subsidiaries AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp and Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc, respectively, formed a consortium together Unisys Philippines and submitted an unsolicited proposal under RA 7718 (BOT Law) to the Philippine Statistics Authority last August 13 for the design and development of a national identity infrastructure solution, which is intended to collect, store, maintain, manage, and authenticate identity information of individuals.

The separate disclosures said the 17-year proposal provides an expedient, comprehensive and long-term solution that will enable the government to realize the full potential of its strategic programs by providing a safe and secure identification and benefits payment mechanism for individuals transacting with government.

The new law establishes the Philippine ID System or PhilSys, a centralized database for vital information on all residents and resident aliens in the Philippines.

It is meant to hasten and improve the delivery of government services and reduce fraudulent transactions.

"The unified identification system is in sync with the global trend of a strong ID system, and it is especially useful and relevant as societies transitioned to digital payments and interlinked internet-based ecosystem," Yu further explained.

This will provide, he added, the foundation in building "a more secure and efficient community."

"On the other hand, the government is entrusted with the heavy responsibility of ensuring that data security and data privacy of its citizens are protected. When in the past, most of the government's efforts to securing peace and order is in the physical police powers, now and more than ever, they need to prepare for cyber attack," the MCCI official said.