Philippines Authorities Prepare for National Biometric ID Program

The Philippines’ Department of Finance is preparing the way for the implementation of a national biometric ID program. As The Philippine Star reports, the DOF has allocated 2 billion PHP for the program’s rollout next year.

The new national ID program will incorporate biometric data, which will be used to determine individual citizens’ entitlements to state benefits; and the DOF is reportedly looking into whether biometric data held by other government agencies could be used in the program. The country’s Commission on Elections, or Comelec, for example, now has a wealth of data thanks to its collection of voters’ biometric data over the last couple of years.

The new ID cards will also contain EMV technology to facilitate financial transactions, such as the transfer of state subsidies.

While the country’s Senate has not yet approved legislation aimed at establishing the national ID program, government authorities appear to be confident in its going forward. DOF Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua is quoted by The Philippine Star as saying that an additional budget is already being planned for the continued rollout of the program in 2019, with the program unfolding in stages until all Filipinos are enrolled in 2020.

Source: The Philippine Star

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July 13, 2017 – by Alex Perala