1. Better delivery of and access to government services.

 A good universal ID
system can make the delivery of and access to public services more efficient. It
reduces cost both to the government and citizens.
2. Financial Inclusion. An ID system can also address a country’s financial
inclusion challenges. It’s been suggested that it could allow unemployed
Filipinos avail of financial and banking services.
3. Law enforcement. Governments also see ID systems critical when fighting
crime and terrorism. In 2016, when a local commercial bank became involved
in a high-profile money laundering case, government agencies echoed calls for
a national ID to prevent similar future incidents.
4. Public Safety. A centralized database is also useful during emergencies and
other public safety concerns. When the MERS (Middle East respiratory
syndrome) virus broke out in 2014, the Department of Health felt that it could
have quickly tracked down people who shared the same flight as a Filipino who
tested positive for the virus if a national ID system was in place.
5. Social Inclusion. National IDs can promote social inclusion by providing
official identification to people that usually have no access to similar
documents.

1. Surveillance and Privacy Rights Violations. A national ID system gives

government unprecedented access to a huge cache of its citizens’ personal data.
This is the greatest danger it poses to any society, as confirmed by the history
of many countries which offer examples of its abuse or misuse.
2. Infringements of Other Civil Liberties. Privacy violations usually precede
graver human rights abuses. Any government with the ability to keep tabs on its
population via an ID system also has the ability to resort to more oppressive
activities, involving other related rights.
3. Doubts over Its Effectiveness Against Crime and Terrorism. A national ID
system is one item in this wish list given by governments, if asked what do
tools they need to combat crime and other threats. This, even if they fail to
produce substantial evidence of its effectiveness. Here in the Philippines, a
2005 report by the Senate Economic Planning Office noted the absence of any
proof that a national ID system increases security against terrorism.
4. Function Creep. Defined as the use of a tool or system for purposes beyond
that originally declared, function creep is a risk to any individual registered in
an ID system. In the draft bill pending at the Senate, the protection against
unlawful disclosure of registered information does not apply if it is in the
interest of “public health or safety”. Who makes such determination is not
stated.
 5. Costs. Identity management programs are expensive to establish and maintain,
and require significant financial commitment from the government. For 2018,
the government has allotted P2 billion to the Philippine Statistics Authority to
prepare for the rollout of an ID system.
6. Data Security. Government ability to protect data under its custody is also
cause for concern. The 2016 Comelec breach only reinforced public perception
that the Philippine government is incompetent or poorly equipped to manage
and maintain secure information systems. What proof is there that it will fare
better when handling a bigger and more complex system?
7. Technical Complexity and Logistical Issues. Other factors that make an ID
system difficult to implement include: (a) migration; (b) access to registration
centers by citizens and residents; and (c) ill-equipped and unprepared
registration centers

better delivery of and access to government services; financial inclusion (the ID can
allow unemployed Filipinos and those without other forms of ID to open a bank
account); law enforcement; public safety (counter-terrorism); and social inclusion (this
ID is for all Filipinos, whether employed or not).
The convenience promised by a national ID card is very attractive. We have all
struggled with getting a TIN (tax ID), SSS (social security), and GSIS (government
social security), having to go to different agencies, filling up and submitting similar
requirements, and waiting in line.
But glitches still abound. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s UMID (unified multi-
purpose ID) system brings together SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, and Home Development
Mutual Fund numbers, but from my personal experience, government agencies still ask
for their particular numbers when checking their databases.
For instance, I recently went to an SSS branch and asked for an update of my
contributions, showing my UMID card. There was some delay pulling up my information
until I handed over my old SSS card. “Ay, meron ka pala niyan, bakit di mo agad
pinakita,” the person assisting me said, going on to access my data. So what’s the
UMID card for?

Cons First, technical and logistical issues. There isn’t any guarantee the system will
work properly, as India is now experiencing with their Aadhaar. Envisioned to help the
government crack down on welfare fraud and corruption, the system is vulnerable to
breaches and faux pas. A Washington Post report cites that clerical errors and other
boo-boos have prevented people from availing of government benefits and services,
claiming salaries, and going to school.
The system is said to be so troublesome that “in some cases, mistakes by Aadhaar
operators have led to dogs, trees, and chairs reportedly being issued Aadhaar cards.”
 Other potential risks, says the FMA paper, to having a national ID are its use for
surveillance and subsequent privacy right violations; infringement of civil liberties; costs
(the Philippine Statistical Authority’s budget, which will implement the system, is P2
billion for 2018); data security (remember the 2016 leak of voters’ data from the
Commission on Elections?); doubts of it effectiveness over crime and terrorism; and
‘function creep’ or the “use of a tool for purposes that go beyond its originally stated
goals.”
An example of the latter is again the Aadhaar. For 500 rupees and 10 minutes, its
database can be accessed, according to the FMA paper citing a 2018 report.
The ease of having just one number for TIN, SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, and all other
agency numbers we need is incalculable. But imagine also the inconvenience caused
by a system glitch. You could be refused service at the agency, be asked to comply with
more requirements, and have to go back and forth till the matter is fixed.
 In any case, though, this system isn’t going to be implemented any time soon. Senator
Panfilo Lacson says it will take five years for the PH system’s rollout “kasi wala
masyadong technical or IT ability ang PSA.”

 So whether you’re nay or yay on this, there’s still time to study the pros and cons and
find ways of strengthening such an ID system, for government to better serve the
Filipino people.