Philippine ID System Law gets president’s approval

Filipinos abroad can register at embassy or consular offices

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the Philippine ID System Law, a long-awaited measure that aims to provide a nationwide database of all Filipinos and a card that would greatly ease their transactions with the government.

During his regular press briefing at the palace, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte signed the Philippine ID System (PhilSys) in Malacañang yesterday afternoon.

“As we all know, the President is averse to bureaucratic red tape. Through PhilSys, we hope to improve efficiency and transparency of public services and promote ease of doing business,” Roque said.

Unlike the previous National ID Bill — which was earlier declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court due to the lack of system to protect its database, this new ID system will pass all constitutional requisites.

“We are confident that this time around it will pass the test of constitutionality,” he added.

He mentioned three advantages of having the PhiSys Law. “It will, number one, promote national security because we will have a database of all Filipinos. Number two, this will prevent identity theft and three, it will promote a better delivery of goods and services from the government to the people.”

Under the new law, a Common Reference Number (CRN) will be given to all Filipinos containing essential information such as full name, address, date and place of birth, sex, civil status, signature, CRN and date of card issuance, along with a recent photo.