Duterte asks PSA to speed up national ID implementation

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has directed the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Office of the National Security Adviser to speed up implementation of the national identification system in a bid to ensure a unified ID for all Filipinos.

At a press briefing yesterday, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government’s plan is on track since Duterte signed into law the Philippine System Identification Act (PhilSys Act) in August.

Panelo shrugged off questions on the perceived delay in the implementation since Congress has already approved the initial P2-billion funding for the project under 2018 appropriations.

He said the PSA has asked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for some technical assistance in terms of data protection and security of the ID cards.

“I think there were concerns on security. An undersecretary said they even asked the ADB to give them technical assistance,” Panelo said, as he assured the public that the government is still on schedule as regards the implementation of the project.

“They might start to roll out by September as mandated under the law,” he added.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the President listened intently to the presentation of National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and PSA chief Lisa Grace Bersales, who presented during Wednesday night’s Cabinet meeting the developments on the program.

Esperon has expressed concern over the need to ensure the security of the ID system, pointing out how critical the project is for “our security.”

“The national statistician reported that its implementation would start in September 2019 with a target of six million Filipinos for registration this year,” Panelo said.

Esperon, according to Panelo, has suggested that the cybersecurity group of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) take the lead and the security of data be taken care of by the PSA with the help of the DICT.

“(The President) ordered the best and safest system in the implementation of the national ID system,” Panelo said.

During the briefing, Panelo also assured the public that the national ID system would not be unduly used against members of left-leaning groups or perceived enemies of the state, some of whom had accused the administration of profiling them.

“The security agency is in charge of that part. And Secretary Esperon said we can be sure that there will be no snafu in the aspect of security,” he said, referring to possible security breaches.

When Duterte signed the law last year, the PhilSys Act was expected to pave the way for efficient services delivery, enhance administrative governance, reduce corruption, curtail bureaucratic red tape, promote ease of doing business and strengthen financial inclusion.

The President also assured the public that the government would protect the data in the PhilSys database, amid concerns of possible data breach and privacy violations.