Filipinos will soon (literally) become card-carrying members of the country.
The Philippines is officially getting a national ID system come this afternoon when President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to sign into law the Philippine Identification System (Philsys), the Malacañang Palace announced.
According to the Philippine Star, it will be signed in Malacañang’s Rizal Hall later today, together with the ceremonial signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
Ratified by Congress in May, the Philsys aims to improve efficiency and transparency in public and social services and lessen “bureaucratic red tape.”
The bill states that it will also help “avert fraudulent transactions and misrepresentations.”
With the new ID system, people will no longer need to have separate IDs for different government offices.
As fine and dandy as all these sound, many have also spoken out against Philsys, saying that it could compromise people’s privacy.
Like other national ID systems around the world, the Philippines’ will include a person’s full name, sex, blood type, birth date, birthplace, marital status, address, and a randomly generated ID number. It will also collect photographs, fingerprints, and iris scans.
This is especially alarming in the Philippines, where extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals have become common.
All Filipino citizens and registered aliens will be required to be in Philsys. The Philippine Statistics Authority will be in charge of the system.
