Unified ID bill revived

A LAWMAKER has revived the bill proposing the issuance of a national identification (ID) card, with additional details on vital information of every citizen and resident alien.

House Bill (HB) 131, filed by Albay Rep. Al Francis C. Bichara (2nd district), seeks to institutionalize a national voluntary information personal (VIP) card for Filipinos and resident aliens of legal age to assist agencies in identifying and verifying identities of persons availing of government services or making public transactions.

The card will contain the holder’s permanent serial number, name, photograph, residence address, date of birth, sex, height and weight, nationality, blood type, polling precinct, barangay/municipality/city or province and special medical needs.

“The VIP card will protect, secure and/or save the holder from red tape in the government bureaucracy, unnecessary harassments and wastage of time and from death of permanent injuries in case of accidents or disasters,” Mr. Bichara said in a statement on Monday.

Last March, the Social Security System (SSS), which is spearheading the unified multi-purpose identification (UMID) system by virtue its extensive network nationwide, has said starting issuing last March UMID cards to its 12 million members that could be used for transactions with the Government Service Insurance System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG). The Philippine Postal Corp. was added to the list of agencies linked ot the last June.

In addition, SSS has said it is in talks with the Commission on Elections to include voter data in the UMID card.

In an expanded setup, the Bichara bill wants the VIP card to cover all transactions with any government agency, and at the same time applicable for other personal circumstances such as application for school and employment.

Meanwhile, Kawagib Moro human rights organization, an alliance that advances Moro human rights, has opposed the bill, saying that the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled against the constitutionality of the national ID system as it will violate the right to privacy and freedom of movement.

SC invalidated in 1998 an executive order entitled “Adoption of a National Computerized Identification Reference System,” issued by then President Fidel V. Ramos.

Kawagib claimed in a statement that the ID system will abet terrorism especially in Moro communities since those who do not have IDs may be arrested and tagged as terrorists or members of the New People’s Army. — Noemi M. Gonzales, BUsinessworld