MANILA -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday welcomed the enactment of Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act (PhilSys) by President Rodrigo Duterte, which will pave the way for a national ID system that would ensure 106.6-million Filipinos access to a wide range of government services and privileges.
PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said they are even considering the possibility of linking the police force's database with the new system in the future.
"With the PhilSys law now in effect, the PNP can look forward to migrating our own National Crime Information System and the National Police Clearance System to a national database for sharing with other government agencies to optimize the operational potential of the entire national ID system," Albayalde noted.
"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," the PNP chief added.
Signed into law by Duterte on Monday, the measure seeks to integrate the various government IDs of all citizens and foreign residents in the country.
Government-issued IDs include the Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) issued to the members of the Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS); Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth); Tax Identification Number (TIN); and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund).
The President tasked the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to work closely with the National Privacy Commission, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, and the multi-agency PhilSystem Policy and Coordination Council to address all concerns pertaining to privacy and security.
The Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the national ID system bill on May 29 and 30, respectively. (PNA)
