Philippines national ID system to ensure secure delivery of social benefits

The Philippine Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary recently said that the government is set to allot a budget of $39.5M (USD) for the 2018 roll-out of its biometrics-based national identification system.

A bill seeking the establishment of the national ID system was approved by the House committee on population and family relations last month. The Senate has yet to approve its counterpart bill.

According to a report in the Philippine Star, an estimated 105 million Filipinos will benefit from the national ID system by 2020.

The national ID system — which will contain an individual’s personal information and biometrics, and secured with Europay, Mastercard, Visa (EMV) chips — will ensure that the social benefits will only be utilized by entitled individuals.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said, “The national ID will also function [as a] social welfare card. This will identify the qualified beneficiaries, and discounts of transportation, and health care. This will help us plug the leaks in the social welfare program.”

Once the bill is passed into law, the issuance of the national IDs would be done in batches, with senior citizens and persons with disabilities the first to receive their IDs. The next recipients would be those belonging to the 5.2 million poorest households in the country.

The DOF is considering whether biometric data collected by other government agencies can also be used.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  identity verification  |  national ID  |  Philippines  |  social security