To Be Identified or Not
Circulating in various email groups today is a joke about a man who,
ordering pizza by phone, is refused the flavor he wanted because his ID,
which the pizza man demanded, showed he has high blood pressure and
cholesterol. He was also advised to pay cash since his ID number also
showed he has overdrawn his credit card. When the customer cursed in
exasperation, the man advised him to keep his cool since his ID number
said he already has a police record. Although the story brings out smiles,
it also underlines the public’s anxiety over the National Identification
System which the government is raring to implement.
BY
RONALD B. ESCANLAR and AILEEN T. ESTOQUIA
Bulatlat
Part 1: Signed in secret
On April 13,
President Arroyo signed Executive Order No. 420, which required government
agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations to unify their
ID systems under the direction of the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA).
The EO was released
to the public on April 21 – one week later.
The mystery that
shrouded the EO befuddled human rights groups, including an administration
senator.
That same day, Senate
Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan issued a statement labeling the signing
of EO 420 as “ironic.”
“The national ID
system relies on openness because we would be making public important
personal information. If the circumstances surrounding the alleged signing
of this EO are not transparent, then we have basis to doubt the eventual
implementation of the system itself,” the senator said.
The government
defended the secrecy of the signing, saying they withheld the release of
the signed EO pending the resolution of legal issues.
According to
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Macapagal-Arroyo wanted all legal
issues resolved to ensure the order’s implementation.
In 1996, President
Fidel V. Ramos signed EO 308, which ordered the adoption of a National
Computerized Identification Reference System. Acting on a petition, the
Supreme Court declared EO 308 unconstitutional on July 23, 1998, stating
that the executive order usurped the power of Congress to legislate and
violated the citizen’s right to privacy.
Turning people into numbers
Under EO 420, the
government will harness the available data stored at virtually all
government agencies – the National Statistics Office (NSO), Land
Transportation Office (LTO), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Social
Security System (SSS), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and
government-owned and controlled corporations, such as the Philippine
Health and Insurance Corporation – and centralize everything under the
supervision of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda).
“All government
agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations issuing ID cards
to their members or constituents shall be covered by this executive
order,” states Section 2 of EO 420.
The order mandates
that the information to be collected “shall be limited to the following:
name, home address, sex, picture, signature, date of birth, place of
birth, marital status, names of parents, height, weight, two index fingers
and two thumb marks, any prominent distinguishing features like moles and
others, Tax Identification Number (TIN).”
A corresponding
common reference number will form part of the data, which means that there
will be an assigned number for every Filipino who holds a national ID.
According to EO 420,
the unified government ID system is expected to be in place by June.
Money for the ID
According to May
Narag of All Card Plastics Philippines, a company that manufactures and
supplies plastic ID cards, a regular ID card with a size of 2.18 inches by
3.45 inches will cost around PhP100.
Such card still does
not have advanced security features and cryptographic technology that EO
420 mandates.
IBON Foundation
computes that about PhP2.5 billion will be needed, assuming that 50
million Filipinos 15 years and above will be issued with an ID that costs
only PhP50 each.
“It is questionable
where government will get the budget for the implementation of the ID
system, given its dire fiscal situation. Besides, such amount can be more
judiciously spent for education, health and other social services,” says
IBON Research Director Antonio Tujan.
Funds for the
national ID, states EO 420, will come from “such funds as may be
recommended by the Department of Budget and Management.” Bulatlat
Part 2: The Legal
Issues
Part 3: State
terrorism?
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