Pilot testing of National ID system starts in September

MANILA, Philippines — The pilot testing of the Philippine Identification System will start in September, Malacañang said Tuesday.

The implementation of the national ID system, also called PhilSys, was tackled during President Rodrigo Duterte’s meeting with the Cabinet on Monday.

“There will be a pilot testing which will run from September to December 2019 to register a substantial number of Filipinos nationwide,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

The government plans to register around 107 million Filipinos in the national ID system by 2022, when Duterte's term of office ends.

The president signed the National ID Law in August 2018, saying a single and streamlined national identification system would reduce corruption, enhance governance and serve as a tool to keep the public safe.

PSA assures security of data

The Philippine Statistics Authority said that month that Filipinos' privacy would be safe from unauthorized access and use.

Opposition to the proposal for a national ID system, chiefly from the Makabayan bloc at the House of Representatives, had raised concerns that the system could lead to state surveillance on its citizens.

Rep. Sarah Elago (Kabataan party-list) said in May 2018 that the national ID and the information that will be gathered "is additional ammunition for the Duterte administration that is wont to silence, harass and criminalize those who oppose its policies."

Under the National ID Law, individuals should be given adequate information upon registration for PhilSys on how their data will be used. The law also penalizes unlawful use of the ID as well as faking the information in the national ID.

"On top of that, we also need to abide with the Data Privacy Act. You’re double dead if you do not complete this – that’s Number One," Undersecretary Lisa Grace Bersales said last August.

The PhilSys registry data shall include demographic data of the person, such as the full name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, blood type, address, classification whether a Filipino or alien, and optional information on e-mail address, mobile number and marital status.

The initial application and issuance as well as the renewal of PhilSys ID for Filipino citizens will be free of charge. — Gaea Katreena Cabico