No amount of threatening can fix something flawed

After receiving reports that some banks would not accept using the national ID in transactions because they lacked the signature of the owner, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to remind banks that Republic Act No.11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, compels them to accept the national ID as sufficient proof of identity.

Any bank that refuses to recognize it would be fined ₱500,000.

"This is not the intention of the law. The national ID system is meant to simplify public and private transactions... The BSP should immediately look into this issue and ensure that all financial institutions, especially Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines, adhere to the law," Gatchalian said in a statement last Saturday.

Whether or not the BSP can compel banks to accept an ID without a signature is better answered by lawyers and lawmakers, although we are dying to know the answer to this as soon as possible.

But what is sure is that no amount of threatening or coercing can fix something that was flawed from the start.

Like our own fingerprints, signatures are unique to an individual. Each of us has his or her own and it provides a layer of security between us and someone who wants to steal our identity although, admittedly, some people can expertly forge the signature of others to this effect.

It should have been part of features of the national ID from the beginning. This makes for another great topic --why the designers didn’t include the signature-- but let’s put that issue aside for now.

If banks are compelled to accept the national ID without the signature of the owner, does this mean others institutions and government offices are expected to do the same? Then private establishments as well?

And if so, somewhere down the line can we now use IDs without a valid signature? Or is only the national ID exempt as it is somehow special?

The hesitance of banks in accepting IDs without signatures is justified. An ID without a signature is easier to fake. Considering how many national IDs are faulty if not delayed or practically missing, be prepared for many to make national IDs for not-so-honest purposes.