Congress ratifies bicam report on national ID system
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 30) — Filipinos will soon do away with a number of identification cards when transacting with the government or the private sector after Congress ratified the Philippine ID system bill.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday ratified the Conference Committee report on the bill, a day after the Senate did the same.
The bill will be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature.
On May 24, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the President will immediately sign the bill into law.
"This landmark bill is part of the legislative priority agenda of the Duterte administration to improve the delivery of government services; thus, once ratified, the President will sign this into law," he added.
Officials who will implement the measure will initially roll out the cards to one million Filipinos before 2018 ends, beginning with persons with disability, senior citizens, and the poor.
The Philippine Identification System or (PhilSys) ID will have 13 sets of information. It will bear the PhilSys number (PSN), full name, sex, blood type, date of birth, place of birth, marital status, and photo of the ID owner. More information will be stored in the PhilSys registry, such as mobile number, email address, and biometrics data, including full set of fingerprints and iris scan.
Filipino citizens or resident aliens should register personally in accredited registration centers nationwide, such as the regional and provincial offices of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), local civil registration offices, Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, PhilPost, Commission on Elections, and other government-owned and -controlled corporations assigned by the PSA.
The program will have an initial budget of P2 billion this year, with Metro Manila, CALABARZON, and the Cordillera Autonomous Region as pilot areas.
Filipino citizens and resident aliens won't have to pay for the government-issued card.
