Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson has filed a bill seeking to amend Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System (National ID) Act, to address potential concerns on data privacy.
Lacson said such an amendment may also serve as an opportunity for the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and other concerned agencies to purge the Philippine ID system of unauthorized registrants.
Citing information he received, Lacson noted that many, if not most, of the unauthorized registrants are Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) personnel who may have managed to register through fraudulent means.
He said such a purging would restore the integrity of the National ID System, whose law he had authored and sponsored.
“This proposed measure seeks to amend the PhilSys Act to eliminate any visible or printed representation of the PSN (PhilSys number) on the card, including microprinted forms. Instead, the PSN will be securely encoded along with biometric information within the card’s QR code,” Lacson said of his bill.
“By doing this, access to the PSN will be strictly limited to authorized parties, who must follow regulated authentication procedures in compliance with current privacy laws and data protection standards,” he added.
In his bill, Lacson noted that the PSN is currently contained in the face of the PhilID along with other information including full name, sex, blood type, date and place of birth, and a photo.
But he said the PSN’s visibility on the card carries the risk of potential misuse including identity theft, fraudulent activities or unwarranted monitoring or profiling, among others.
“An instance in 2024 illustrated this risk, as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) issued a warning to the public to be vigilant against unauthorized individuals approaching cardholders and taking photographs of their national ID in exchange of cash, as this is crucial in preventing identity theft and fraud,” he said.
