DOJ chief pushes national ID system, dismisses critics

Instead of raising fears over it, critics of the controversial national unified ID system should give it a chance to work, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Agnes Devanadera said Friday. Devanadera, in a radio interview, said it was unfair of government’s critics to claim that politics is the motive behind the implementation of the ID system. “Ang national ID system, di naman bago sa mga bansa. Di ito, pag lahat na programa isip ninyo pampulitika ito susuriin din natin ang kabutihan nito (The ID system is not a new idea. It has been used in other countries. And critics should not think that politics are involved at every turn. They should also look into its benefits)," she said in an interview on dzXL radio. While government critics claim that the ID system may allow the government to spy on them, government for its part said that a unified ID system can facilitate transactions with government agencies. Two million IDs in March, five million by 2015 On Thursday, Social Security System (SSS) head Romulo Neri said the government will implement the controversial unified ID system in March. A Malacañang statement said that representatives of the SSS, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), and Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) will sign the agreement for the unified ID system. “By March, we will be printing two million IDs. We expect to print 12 million IDs in five years," Neri said. The ID system gained controversy after groups said that it can be used to spy on citizens, particularly government critics. Not enough time for Comelec implementation The ID system was also intended to be used by the Commission on Election (Comelec) in the nationwide automated presidential polls this year, but Neri said that there may not be enough time to implement the program. “Since Comelec has not completely finished its registration and other concerns, then we strongly doubt we can push through with it. Besides, we do not want to make it appear that we are doing this for the election," he said. The national ID system was revived by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in January 2007 during a command conference with President Arroyo at Camp Aguinaldo. In September 2008, the SSS spearheaded the project with a common reference number to be issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) based on its database. - TJD, GMANews.TV