MANILA — The National Privacy Commission (NPC) is backing the establishment of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), an official said.
NPC Commissioner Raymund Liboro said the creation of a national ID system will facilitate the access of Filipinos to public and private sector services which need proof of identity.
“A national ID is a valuable possession of every Filipino,” Liboro said in a press conference.
He assured the public that measures are in place to ensure the privacy of personal information once the PhilSys is implemented.
“The consent of an individual or court orders are some of the requirements needed for any government agencies or other organizations to acquire personal data,” Liboro said.
“Privacy by design is a globally recognized best practice of integrating data protection from the design stage and throughout the data handling process. In this case we have succeeded in putting the legal basis to consider data privacy and protection every step of the way in implementing the national ID. Essentially hoisting the sign:” Do No Harm” to Filipino citizens and resident aliens covered by the proposed law. The National Privacy Commission will remain vigilant that the data protection provisions in the law will be faithfully adhered to by data handlers involved in the Proposed Phil ID system.” the NPC Commissioner added.
The proposed national ID system allows the disclosure, collection and recording of information of registered persons in the following instances: when there is consent of the registered person; when the compelling interest of public health or safety so requires, relevant information may be disclosed upon order of a competent court, provided that the risk of significant harm to the public is established and the owner of the information is notified within 72 hours of the fact of such disclosure; and when the registered person requests the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to provide access to his or her registered information and record history.
“This is consistent with the policy recognized under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (DPA) of protecting the fundamental human right to privacy while ensuring free flow of information,” Liboro said.
The PSA must also ensure that individuals are informed upon registration on how their data will be used and how they can access their registered information and record history to uphold their data privacy rights.
The DPA ensures that sanctions will be imposed against violations under the proposed national ID system such as unauthorized collection, disclosure or access, or malicious disclosure of personal data.
The Palace has earlier said that President Rodrigo R. Duterte will sign into law a bill establishing the PhilSys once this is ratified by Congress.
The bill seeks to integrate and interconnect some 30 redundant government IDs by coming out with a single national ID system.
The PhilSys will have three key components: the PhilSys Number or PSN, the PhilID and PhilSys Registry.
The PhilID will be a non-transferable card containing on its face the PSN, full name, facial image, date of birth, address and fingerprints of the individual.
The PSA is mandated to act as the PhilSys Registry, a repository and custodian of all data including the PSN, registered records, and information of all persons registered in the PhilSys. (PNA)
