National ID system will bring Philippines significant savings

According to the Philippine National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, Lisa Bersales, the soon-to-be executed national identification system will result in savings equaling as much as two per cent of the country’s GDP over the planned five-year period of the project’s implementation, Gulf News reports.

The country’s GDP was estimated to be at $986.98 billion (Dh3.624 trillion) in 2017.

Bersales said the National ID systems will help plug spending leaks in government social protection programs and the savings can be used to boost funding for vital government projects and programs, such as infrastructure and social services. There are 33 different identification cards currently being issued by the various government agencies.

The Senate and House versions of the national ID measure is now undergoing deliberations and is expected to soon be signed into law by President Duterte.

Bersales said once the national ID law has been passed, “the Philippine Statistics Authority would be able to provide ID numbers and capture biometrics in five years for 107 million Filipino citizens and non-Filipino residents.”

According to the report, all government agencies are supporting the national ID measure. Previous efforts by past administrations to pass a national ID law were unsuccessful due to fears that laws safeguarding private information would be breached.

In an interview last September with Philippine publication Business Mirror, Dermalog Identification Systems GmbH CEO Gunther Mull said his group is seeking more opportunities in the Philippines’ identification and security sectors after providing biometric-enabled driver’s license cards for the country.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  national ID  |  Philippines  |  privacy