Nat’l ID to address insurgency, criminality

Manila - Department of National Defense and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday, August 7, said the passage of the Philippine Identification System Act could help address the country’s problem on insurgency and criminality.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said “as per experience,” armed conflicts and insurgencies are often rooted in poor governance and delivery of basic services.

“Having a national ID system in place will help government address the gaps in the identification of citizens entitled to receive government services, thereby making things more convenient for law-abiding Filipinos,” he said.

“For example, as a country prone to disasters, the system will allow improved distribution of aid to legitimate disaster victims. Matters such as this can now be better addressed because of the new law,” he added.

Lorenzana assured that individual privacy will be respected amid concerns that the national ID system may compromise one’s privacy due to the information it contains.

Meanwhile, the PNP said such measure is a necessity for any developing country in order to keep pace with global trends of technology in governance.

“An efficient national ID system offers benefits to practical applications in census, taxation, election registration, banking, travel documentation, social security, social welfare, and other transactions with government agencies,” said PNP spokesperson Senior Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr.

“All these government applications stand to benefit more than the quite limited law enforcement and internal security applications due to privacy and basic rights issues associated with gathering of personal information that need to be observed and upheld,” he added./