‘Trust the government’

Google your home address with the house number, street, district, city and country, and you will likely see a recent 360-degree video image of your house and street.

A US security officer once told me (and I didn’t think it was a complete joke): “We can see you, down to your whiskers.” This was over a decade ago.

It’s not yet Big Brother, but technology is getting there. Surveillance technology is now so advanced that face recognition can work even on moving images that aren’t full frontal, with people’s heads slightly bowed or tilted to avoid being identified through CCTV.

In one of my trips overseas I watched a demonstration of cutting-edge surveillance equipment, developed in a country renowned for such innovations. As the audience was sworn to secrecy, I can only tell you the technology collects data from all over the planet to match with video footage, boosting in an unprecedented way the chances of tracing, identifying and catching even individuals wearing caps and jackets. The technology has been used with stunning success in the capture of terrorists. (Sorry, we were also made to promise not to identify the cases and countries where the technology has been applied.) The tracing isn’t accomplished overnight; the data crunching can take months, but it didn’t make the technology less awesome.

Every security agency would be dying to own or have access to this surveillance system. But ordinary folks concerned about their privacy need not worry; I’m pretty certain the Philippines doesn’t have the technology… yet. It’s not cheap, and the government is having fiscal issues these days, with worse times ahead (according to economic managers) in case federalism is forced through.

I’m just mentioning the technology to illustrate how any government with the readiness and resources in this age can gather personal information and conduct surveillance.

These issues are being raised as the country for the first time adopts a national identification system.

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A Social Weather Stations survey conducted in late June showed a high 73 percent of Filipinos supporting the Philippine Identification System or PhilSys, with 61 percent trusting that the government will keep their personal information safe.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) chief Lisa Grace Bersales and National Privacy Commissioner Raymond Liboro are reassuring Filipinos that we can trust the government with the seven basic items of personal information that will be collected for PhilSys, plus biometrics and a “record history” of each instance when the Phil ID is used.

Bersales, appearing with Liboro on “The Chiefs” last week on Cignal TV’s One News, cited the track record of the PSA in keeping personal information confidential.

The government launched the national ID system for a unified database on every citizen and resident alien. This helps the government in a myriad of tasks, such as allocating funds and resources as well as planning projects and programs.

Undoubtedly the national ID will also be a boon to law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts. The government likes to stress that those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear.

There are concerns about certain sectors such as indigenous minorities being denied government services if they fail to get a Phil ID. No ID, no entry? Rep. Salvador Belaro Jr. of 1-ANG EDUKASYON party list, another guest on our show, says that the ID, which will eventually become mandatory, will ensure that minorities will be covered by the services enjoyed by the rest of the citizenry.

ACT party-list Rep. France Castro, one of the opposition lawmakers who voted against the PhilSys law, expressed concerns about the potential for abuse and privacy invasion through the new ID system.

Castro represents the segment of the population that can’t trust the government, especially this government, with personal information. She also can’t fully trust the technology, even as Liboro pointed out that there is no technology that is fully hack-proof. We’ve seen WikiLeaks, the hacking of several US government websites and, more recently, the Facebook data breach.

But Castro acknowledges the high public support, as reflected in the survey, for the national ID.

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My personal concerns over PhilSys are more mundane: lining up again to register for the national ID and have my biometrics taken, and then waiting for an eternity to get the ID card.

But I’m looking forward to carrying fewer government ID cards in my wallet, and to the promise of speedier government services. In time, we’re told, the national ID will also replace the passport (as in several other countries). Only the driver’s license and professional license cards, which are obtained after passing certain tests, will be separate from the unified ID.

Privacy breach? I feel my privacy breached each time I receive product promos on my cell phone and advertising spam in my email.

My generation kept diaries under lock and key; we value privacy. But I’ve understood since the days of rotary phones and snail mail that Philippine security forces can eavesdrop on private conversations or intercept messages any time they want, even without a court order.

Friends in the intelligence community taught me how to detect if my phone conversation was being tapped and recorded. As a journalist I always consider phone eavesdropping and other forms of state surveillance as hazards of the trade. Some years ago I was included in a list of journalists whose phones were tapped by the police. So I’ve always kept any confidential information out of phone conversations and written communication.

These days I am stunned at how much personal information people are willing to share on social media. State surveillance has become so much easier. I know parents my age who remind their kids not to post anything on social media that they might one day regret, and to be careful so they don’t find themselves in an embarrassing video on YouTube.

All the basic information and biometrics being collected for the national ID I’ve already submitted to different government agencies. I’ve given more personal information in applying for visas from several countries.

Misuse and data breach of citizens’ personal information are always possible. For now, however, my biggest concern is the efficient implementation of PhilSys. Our government has always had a problem in issuing ID cards.