National ID bill awaits Duterte's signature

MANILA, Philippines — The country would soon have a single identification system as the national ID card bill awaits President Duterte’s signature.

Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, who chairs the House of Representatives appropriations committee, said yesterday Congress sent the bill to Malacañang last month after finally approving it.

In preparation for implementing the national ID system, Nograles said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) should already have the ID design.

“By this time, the final design of the ID should have been completed and the PSA should already have all the necessary facilities to go full blast in producing these IDs,” he said.

He said Metro Manila and parts of Southern Tagalog would be the first areas to receive the all-in-one government ID card.

“It would be reasonable to assume by now that the PSA already has its distribution mechanism in place. There should also be a process by which the agency can receive and address complaints regarding faulty cards, as well as replace lost or damaged cards at the soonest possible time,” Nograles said.

He stressed that the national ID card would be a machine-readable government card that would store multiple data about the cardholder, including tax, health and social security details.

He pointed out that Congress has set aside P2 billion in this year’s budget for the implementation of the national ID program.

“Soon, we will have to carry just one card for all our transactions. This will save the cardholder and the government time and money from having to deal with multiple ID cards. Also, the national ID card promises the public heightened protection from lawlessness such as terrorism and drug trafficking since it will augment our existing security mechanisms. It will truly be indispensable,” Nograles said.

He urged the PSA to ensure a “hitch-free implementation of the national ID system, and we want nothing less.”

Under the proposed national ID system law, the envisioned national ID should be acceptable in government and private establishments as proof of identification.

Once presented, the establishment should no longer ask for any other ID card.