NEDA denies ID system for spying

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) defended the government’s plan to implement a unified identification card system to improve government services and not to spy on citizens.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri said the government intends to streamline services and improve efficiency by unifying all existing government-issued ID cards into a unified ID that can be used for all transactions in state offices.

President Arroyo had issued Executive Order 420 authorizing the Unified Multipurpose ID (UMID) system last April. The order requires all government employees to get a UMID in order to streamline and harmonize their ID systems, Neri said in a statement.

Neri, who was tapped to implement the project, said UMID is different from a national ID because only the House of Representatives can compel the public to get a national ID.

He assured the public that the unified ID will not be used to monitor the activities of citizens or profile individuals.

"The purpose (of the UMID) is to strengthen good governance, improve transparency, empower our citizenry, and give every Filipino faster access to dependable government services," Neri explained.

The unified ID system is expected to reduce the cost of maintaining multiple IDs that can clutter the government’s database.

Neri said the system is expected to prevent fraudulent transactions due to identity theft or use of false names and identities because a single database will be used by all government and government-owned and controlled agencies.