House of Representatives approves National ID System bill

September 9, 2017

The House of Representatives, voting 142-7, approved on third and final reading Friday House Bill 6221 which seeks to establish a single, unified and streamlined national identification system in the country.

The bill, otherwise known as the “Filipino Identification System” calls for the establishment of a National Identification Database System, to be known as the National Identification System or “FilSys”.

Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua last month said the government is set to allot a budget of P2 billion for the roll-out in 2018 of the national ID system and that 105 million Filipinos can benefit from it by 2020.

The National ID System shall provide a valid proof of identity and an efficient official identity verification of all citizens of the Republic of the Philippines.

FilSys shall gradually synchronize and consolidate all existing government-initiated identification systems into one integrated identification system.

Under the bill, every Filipino, upon reaching the age of 18 and whether residing in the Philippines or abroad, is mandated to register personal data as required by the FilSys, and upon application, shall be issued a non-transferrable FilID with a CRN that shall be valid for life. DMS