Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Drilon says enough safeguards in law on national ID system

The author of the law on the national ID system on Wednesday, June 12, assured Filipinos that there are enough safeguards in the law to protect their privacy, underscoring that the law’s main objective is to enhance the delivery of basic services to the public.

Sen. Franklin M. Drilon’s statement sought to allay public’s fears as the Malacanang announced the pilot testing of the national ID system will begin in September.

Drilon said that the law would ensure efficient delivery of service and ease transactions with government agencies.

“The law has enough safeguards to protect the sanctity of the individual’s information and protect their right to privacy,” Drilon said. “It protects against unlawful disclosure of information and punishes those who will subvert the system for unlawful ends.”

With a national ID system in place, Drilon said it would be easier for individuals seeking basic services from the government to identify themselves and for agencies, both public and private, to verify the information.

“We provided a balance between enhancing the system of legal identification for better service delivery and protecting the right to privacy. The type of information collected and the purposes for which they may be used is limited,” Drilon said.

He explained that the data that will be included in the national ID system would not be different from the information that are currently present in all government-issued IDs.

The senator also stressed that the law would not affect data privacy as the pertinent provisions of the Data Privacy Act would still apply. He also said that the law had nothing to do with the non-passage by the 17th Congress of the proposed amendments to the human security.

Under the new law, a Common Reference Number (CRN) will be given to all Filipinos containing essential information such as full name, address, date and place of birth, sex, civil status, signature, CRN and date of card issuance, along with a recent photo.

He emphasized that the CRN/ID can be used by a citizen in its transactions with all branches of the government, thereby making it move convenient for Filipinos to avail of government services.

The ID will also be honored when transacting with certain private institutions, like banks, he noted.

Filipinos living and working abroad can register at embassy or consular offices in their countries of location to get their assigned CRN.

“Today, you open a wallet and you will find a driver’s license, a voter’s ID, an SSS/GSIS ID, Philhealth ID, Tax Identification Number card, among others. Once the National ID is distributed to every single Filipino here and abroad, transactions will be made easier and faster,” Drilon said.

Meanwhile, a report by tech market advisory firm ABI Research said the worldwide installed base of both smart and legacy credentials will grow from 9.8 billion in 2018 to 11.5 billion in 2023.

With increased rates of international travel and government focus shifting to border control and security of citizen’s data, significant regional and innovation trends are beginning to develop in the national ID market.

“When it comes to regions, identifiable trends are emerging as it pertains to the objectives that credential programs are looking to achieve,” said Sam Gazeley, digital security analyst at ABI Research.

The number of smart card shipments is forecast to increase from 618.8 million in 2018 to 732.7 million in 2023. This growth is linked to many credential programs kicking off or ramping up in the forecast period and will see a shortening of the gap between legacy and smart credentials, with 44% of all world credentials in circulation in 2023 having a smart format, up from 37% in 2018.

National IDs will have a strong showing in shipment volumes, with 440 million units shipped in 2018, forecast to increase to 490 million in 2023. This is due to several large-scale national ID projects kicking off in Ghana, Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya, and Italy, supported by the ongoing deployment of eID credentials, such as My Number cards in Japan, Turkish e-ID cards, and the Philippines issuance following legislative changes to make the document mandatory.

Innovation in the market will primarily be driven by smart-card vendors Gemalto, IDEMIA, G+D (including Veridos), and Bundesdruckerei. With a commanding 63.7% share of the smart card market in first half 2018, these vendors are poised to take advantage of credential migration opportunities for governments looking to overhaul legacy credentials and stay ahead of increasing credential standards.

“Vendors that are already well positioned and established within the government ID market will be able to take advantage of innovative technological advances in citizen credentials to drive higher revenues and decrease production costs. The use of polycarbonate as a material can provide higher physical security features, and mobile and derived companions to physical documents provide a convenient solution to citizens while improving citizen-to-government relationships,” concluded Gazeley.

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