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Authorities note proliferation of invalid IDs at checkpoints

John Unson - Philstar.com

June 5, 2017 | 9:31am

Authorities note proliferation of invalid IDs at checkpoints

Authorities said that only government-issued identification cards can be used at security checkpoints. JOHN UNSON

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines — Authorities said they would arrest people selling invalid forms of identification that people are trying to use at checkpoints and in areas covered by 'No ID, No Entry' rules.

Police securing highways confirmed on Monday the proliferation of ID cards bearing names of pro-federalism blocs and with superimposed photos of President Rodrigo Duterte that motorists and passengers of public utility vehicles have been presenting.

Lawyer Kirby Abdullah, local government secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said on Monday that they are also validating the reported issuances by unscrupulous barangay officials of residence certificates to evacuees from Marawi City at prices ranging from P100 to P300.

“All of these are being checked now. It seems there are unscrupulous people taking advantage of the situation,” Abdullah told The STAR on Monday.

The provincial police director of Maguindanao, Senior Supt. Agustin Tello, and his counterpart in Sultan Kudarat province in Region 12, Senior Supt. Raul Supiter, on Monday separately appealed to the public not to use ID cards from non-existent groups taking advantage of martial law to earn money.

“Besides the regular residence certificates, our men will only honor school and office IDs and those issued by the Social Security System, the Government Service Insurance System, the Pag-IBIG and Philhealth,” Tello said.

Supiter said he has issued a directive to all municipal police precincts under his jurisdiction to warn the public not to deal with groups selling fake IDs.

“These highly questionable IDs cannot be used as clearance in checkpoints even if they bear photos of President Duterte,” Supiter said.

Local governments in Mindanao, where martial law has been declared since May 23, have been implementing stricter security screening, including requiring those entering the city to present valid IDs. Checkpoints may also check for IDs to make sure no militants have managed to sneak out of Marawi City.

There is no national ID system in the Philippines and it is not uncommon for citizens, especially those living in far-flung areas where basic government services are not readily available, to not have valid IDs or even birth certificates.

'Fake IDs'

Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, director of the Police Regional Office-ARMM, said personnel of the Lanao del Sur provincial police will also look into the issue.

Sindac said it is likely that groups have hoodwinked their victims from areas besieged by Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists with a guarantee of safe passage through checkpoints if they use the IDs they peddle.

Abdullah said the Department of the Interior and Local Government-ARMM has directed all local government units in the autonomous region to ensure that residents in all barangays have proper identification credentials to avoid getting into trouble with authorities enforcing the Mindanao-wide martial law.

“Any barangay official proven to have charged exorbitant fees for residence certificates to evacuees from Marawi or from anywhere in Lanao del Sur shall be prosecuted to the fullest extent of law,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, Jr. of the Western Mindanao Command told The STAR on Monday that military intelligence units are now helping address the problem