(Eagle News) — The bicameral conference committee approved on Tuesday night a bill seeking to put in place a national ID system.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate committee on public order, expressed hopes the reconciled version would be ratified by both the House of Representatives and the Senate before Monday, May 28.
This will hopefully then be transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for signing into law.
According to Lacson, a national ID will facilitate transactions in government agencies, and will help authorities in going after criminals.
He said Congress has put in place safeguards to ensure that individuals who have the IDs are protected.
Criminal charges, for instance, he said, will be filed against anyone who would release an individual’s information without court approval.
Welcome development
The Palace welcomed the development.
“That’s good news! It’s a priority administration bill,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a message.
Under the bill approved by the Senate, the national identification system shall be known as the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys.
There will be three key components under the bill: the PhilSys Number or PSN, the PhilID, and the PhilSys Registry. Meanne Corvera