Arroyo reviewing draft executive order creating nat’l ID system

The draft of an executive order that would consolidate the different government-issued identification cards into a single ID system is now in the hands of President Arroyo, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday.

In a press briefing, Ermita said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the National Statistics Office (NSO) undertook the study that served as the basis of the EO.

Ermita refused to go into detail about the study, only saying the EO would take into account the Supreme Court ruling that declared unconstitutional an administrative order issued by former President Fidel Ramos seeking to establish a national ID system.

"The President has to read the basis of the recommendation of NEDA," he said. "I would not want to comment in detail because I will be preempting the actions of the President."

Ermita said the EO could be signed by Mrs. Arroyo as early as next week if she approves it.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the EO was intended just to "jumpstart" the implementation of a national ID system.

"What we’d like to do first is to be able to do the spadework which can be used as the basis for a future ID system," he said.

Malacañang earlier indicated it would prod Congress to pass a law establishing a national ID system.

Ermita said the government is prepared to be "challenged" on the legality of the EO.

While he would not reveal precisely what data would be encoded in the ID, Ermita admitted the ID could become an important tool in the government’s attempts to combat terrorism and crime.

"With the advent of terrorism, it is very important that we should be able to identify the people around us. But there is still a lot of hype on the ID system, in relation to terrorism and similar activities," he said.

Ermita said the EO would require all government agencies and corporations to streamline and harmonize their ID systems and create an inter-agency committee for this purpose.

He said the NSO and possibly the police and military would also provide information for the proposed ID system.

The Ramos administration first came up with their own proposal for a National Computerized Identification Reference System.

Had it been adopted, the system would have entailed entering data on all Filipinos and resident foreigners into a central database and assigning each one a "population reference number" based on the biometrics of the right forefinger.

The ID would have included information such as date of birth, occupation, residential address, tax and voter’s ID numbers, blood type, allergies, as well as the social security number of the bearer.

The proposal was criticized because of its potential for abuse. Fears were raised that the ID could be used as an instrument to invade the privacy of individuals.

But Ramos said the proposal was declared unconstitutional only because of a legal technicality. He said the Supreme Court decision did not undermine the merits of having a national ID system.

"A great number of ordinary Filipinos," he said, "would want to see the national ID card as our membership card in the Republic of the Philippines."

Ramos said the ID card would entitle its holders to the "privileges and rights of law-abiding citizens, just like any membership card in any fraternal, social, cultural or veterans’ association."