PhilSys will help Pinoys who are unable to bank — Angara
By Hannah Torregoza
Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Monday expressed belief that the newly signed law on Philippine Identification System, or PhilSys, will greatly help Filipinos who are unable to deposit money in bank.
Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
Angara, one of the authors of the law, noted that most of the Filipinos who shun banking activities do so because they have insufficient identification cards to formally conduct bank transactions.
“This national ID system, when rolled out across the country, will empower many Filipinos who are unable to bank because they do not have the appropriate identification cards, to access the formal financial system and open bank accounts,” Angara said in a statement.
The Senate ways and means committee chair also commended President Rodrigo Duterte for signing the measure into law as it would also help cut down bureaucratic red tape.
Duterte signed the measure into law Monday afternoon. The new law will enable Filipinos to conduct transactions with any public or private entity without having to present multiple IDs.
The government has assured that safeguards are in place to ensure that the database for all personal data would be protected.
“I laud President Duterte for signing the law creating the national ID system in order to cut down the bureaucratic red tape that has been hampering the efficient and effective delivery of government services,” he said.
“With the enactment of the national ID into law, the Philippines now joins many developed countries in the world that have adopted such a system for a smoother and streamlined government services and operations,” the senator added.
The law mandates the creation of the PhilSys Policy Coordination Council (PSPCC), which will be headed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and which is mandated to oversee the program’s implementation.
Aside from the PSA, other agencies part of the PSPCC are the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
The Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of the Interior Local Government (DILG), National Privacy Commission (NPC), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth), Social Security System (SSS), and Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) are also part of the PSPCC.