EDITORIAL - Why the cedula has become irrelevant

Once Congress will decide in favor of Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares, the centuries-old cedula will become just another Spanish legacy sidelined to the museum. 

Last week, Henares said if she were to decide, she would rather do away with the community tax certificate or the cedula because it is no longer required in government transactions.  She said the cedula has become like a “joke” since the national government is no longer profiting from it as people would just buy it “from just any place.”

The revenue chief explained that while the national government pays millions for the printing and distribution of community tax certificate or cedula, the money generated from it goes directly to the local government units as mandated by the Local Government Code.

But only Congress can scrap the cedula because its function is governed by a law. The Local Government Code, or Republic Act 7160, stated that the municipality or city will collect the proceeds of the cedula as a form of local tax.     

Henares was right in batting for the cedula's abolition. And Congress should take her proposal seriously.

During the Spanish colonization, the cedula was issued to Filipinos as a form of identification card. The cedula was an important credential, especially when one has transactions with the Spanish government. However, it has remained even after more than 100 years since the country gained independence from Spain. 

Obviously, the cedula has already lost its purpose in these modern times. It has become irrelevant. While the local government unit is still profiting from it, its function has become unclear in today's bureaucratic setting. For example, one cannot just display his cedula as proof of his residency in a certain area. He needs to have a barangay certificate.

With different identification cards now being issued by government agencies, the cedula's legal value has greatly diminished. Its importance nowadays has been reduced to just few words signifying the name and address of the bearer written in a useless piece of paper.

The cedula's continued existence has indeed become a joke, like the appendix whose undistinguishable purpose in the human body still left scientists baffled.