We’re talking, says Philippines government about biometric security provider

A month after a local official made statements that left people worried that a biometrics security contract was in danger, Philippines officials are still trying to calm the waters.

This week, the central government published an article on its site saying that officials of the Land Transportation Office had met with executives of Dermalog Identification Systems. The two sides are trying to address problems with an online portal system without destroying the relationship.

The portal is used by Filipinos to apply for a driver’s license or perform other administrative tasks with biometric authentication.

In mid-August, the head of Land Transportation, Teofilo Guadiz, expressed some disappointment with the pace of systems and services for renewing driving licenses.

Dermalog picked up the contract from a previous company that, allegedly, had not finished its work before its contract ended. Somehow, Guadiz’ comments on the matter were interpreted as Dermalog was close to losing its contract.

He has since said this is not the case. However, no solution has been found yet, leading to what the government refers to as a new partnership with Dermalog to improve the system.

Guadiz issued a statement saying that he had met with Dermalog about how to improve business processes. The government also wants to turn integrate the government’s motor vehicle registration information system with the Land Transportation management system. That reportedly will make Land Transportation customer lines move faster.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  DERMALOG  |  digital ID  |  government purchasing  |  Philippines