Congress OKs House Bill No. 5060 or Philippine ID System Act

House Bill No. 5060 or the Philippine Identification (ID) System Act has already passed the third and final reading in the House of Representatives.

Under HB 5060, every Filipino, even those working abroad, are required to register with the Philippine ID system under the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). According to DZMM, the Philippine ID shall be used for all government and private transactions.  The ID system is expected to improve delivery of services to Filipinos. The same can be used for obtaining passports, driver’s licenses, NBI and police clearances, SSS, GSIS, Philhealth, and PAG-IBIGm for voting, and for job applications.

The Identification Card contains the cardholder’s name, date of birth, gender, date of issuance, and signature which is tamper proof and has a dedicated serial number (exclusive to each card) and biometric data issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The bill also states that the information provided in the card will remain confidential to the holder and Philippine Statistics Authority, and will not be disclosed to any third party unless otherwise approved by the bearer, or when there is a court order, or an accident and medical history is required.

The card has a lifetime validity that will only be replaced (1) when the bearer turns 18, (2) will have a change of name after marriage, (3) when card is broken or lost, or (4) when the bearer turns 60 years old.

A fee shall be required to replace the card except for Senior Citizens.