House panel OKs bill on national ID system

MANILA, Philippines - A committee of the House of Representatives unanimously approved yesterday the proposed establishment of a national ID system.

The administration measure got the go signal from the House committee on population and family relations headed by Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones.

It was the substitute bill to some 18 measures seeking the implementation of a unified identification card for millions of adult Filipinos. Its main purpose is to make government and private sector transactions easier.

The Philippine Statistics Authority, formerly known as the National Statistics Office, will be tasked to release the ID cards following the enactment of the bill. A key feature of the unified ID card is the Common Reference Number (CRN).

Under the proposed national ID system, only one ID will be used for all government transactions. The ID card will serve as the “official identity verification” of all Filipino citizens.

The proposal seeks to consolidate all existing government-initiated identification systems into one and provide “state-of-the-art, fingerprint-based biometric machines in all relevant agencies.”

Aragones described the CRN as an easy way to check all the information on a card, which will be stored in one database. This information includes the card owner’s Social Security System or Government Service Insurance System number.

All Filipinos aged 18 years and above are required to get the card, initially free of charge.

Among the information that will be made available in the national ID card’s magnetic strip are the person’s name, permanent address, age, gender and picture. A person’s thumbprint can be found on the card’s microchip.

“There’s a thumb print but it will be inside since there are information that we can’t fit on the card.” Aragones explained.

The national ID may be used in dealing with national government agencies, local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations and government financial institutions.

Private entities will also be mandated to accept the ID as valid proof of identity.