ID for Every Juan

This is a comprehensive study of the House Bill 5060 or otherwise known as the
Filipino Identification System Act where the pros and cons of having a unified ID for
every Filipino will be perceived.
An identification card is one of the most essential tool a person must have; for you need
to be able to prove you are who you say you are in many situations. For instance, one
will need an ID in applying for a job, however, there are many requirements needed
such as different IDs which are taken from different government agencies.
The Congress now sees the importance of having an all-in-one ID. The House Bill 5060
was proposed by the legislators to cater to this matter. Pangasinan Rep. Marlyn
Primicias-Agabas and Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairpersons of the committees
on revision of laws and on appropriations, respectively, said that the measure shall
gradually concert and consolidate all existing government initiated identification system
into one integrated and efficient identification system. The authors said that this Act will
institutionalize a national information card for all Filipinos that would ensure facilitation
and streamline government transactions and help promote a progressive society
through an efficient delivery of basic services.
In my opinion, if this bill becomes a law, not only will it implement the aforementioned
purpose for which it was intended, but also this will be a protective measure to lessen
the problems of identity theft which is rampant because of the technologies and
innovations emerging in the society. However, the cons of having this law will be the
implementation and the procedure of how the IDs will be taken to each and every
Filipino for it can be detrimental to the privacy of a person since a national database
containing personal information would have to be created wherein such database is
susceptible to invasion of privacy. Also I believe that it will complicate the process of the
special proceedings with respect to Rule 103 regarding the change of name provided
for in the rules of court. This study will also seek to know the sanctions, if any, for noncompliance with the said law and the appropriate remedy which will be available to
every person in the event, a dispute or conflict arises.
True that it saves time, money and effort. The question however is, is this still necessary
for the Filipinos? Do we really need an ID when we already have some of the
government-issued id? Thus, there can be issues as to redundancy.
Our group will discuss the pros and cons of House Bill 5060 and we will present a
comparison, as to the effect of having national ids, among other countries which already
implemented it; whether or not this worked for them. Our group will submit an
amendment to the proposed bill.