Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday called for the immediate and “full blown” implementation of the national identification system to resolve issues in the government’s emergency subsidy program for poor families.
“In the problems being encountered by government in the social amelioration program and problems on the database, perhaps now is the time and my suggestion is to execute and enforce the national ID system,” Sotto told reporters in a video message.
The Senate leader said he spoke anew to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez about his appeal for its “full blown execution” of the Philippine Identification System (Philsys).
Sotto said the Philsys will address the discrepancies between the national government’s data and those of local government units on the informal sector households to receive the P5,000 to P8,000 cash aid under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
“This will resolve all the other problems as far as databses are concerned,” he added.
Sotto urged Dominguez committee to follow up “as soon as possible” with agencies concerned in the implementation of the PhilSys. In a tweet, he called the attention of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the mother agency of the Philippine Statistics Authority which was tasked to implement the national ID system.
Under the PhilSys, a single identification card shall be issued for all citizens and foreign residents to simplify public and private transactions. It was established in August 2018, following the signing of the Republic Act No. 11055.
The government started last year its pilot testing.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, author and sponsor of the Philsys law in Senate, agreed with Sotto.
“I couldn’t agree more, Mr Senate President. We passed it two years ago. They should fast track the implementation, not only because of the COVID-19 but for a lot of many good reasons that will benefit the country,” he said in reply to Sotto’s tweets. (Vanne Terrazola)