Philippines Starts Registering Millions for National ID Cards (nikkei.com) 28
The Philippines began Monday registering millions of citizens for its national identification system, hoping to promote electronic payments and make it easier for low-income earners without bank accounts to access financial services. From a report: All Philippine citizens and resident foreigners are required to register such information as name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, blood type, address and nationality. Biometric data -- fingerprints, facial photos and iris scans -- also will be stored. The country's current system, in which different agencies issue their own numbers, has been criticized as inconvenient. The new system will grant each person a unique number that can be used across agencies. The government hopes to make financial services more accessible to low-income workers who lack bank accounts as well as facilitate delivery of government services. Officials from the Philippine statistics agency will visit homes to collect the personal information, completing the process before President Rodrigo Duterte's term ends in June 2022. The system is scheduled to begin operation in the second half of 2021 for services such as visa issuances. A survey found 73% public support for the new ID system, suggesting that little concern exists over the collection of personal information by the government. Karl Kendrick Chua, acting secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority, said the ID system will accelerate growth of the digital economy. He expressed hope that the national system will spark widespread use of electronic payments. Partnerships with the private sector also appear to be on the table.
so an new number for ID theft to run up big bills (Score:3)
so an new number for ID theft to run up big bills and with electronic payments how deep in overdraft will an bank let someone get?
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Currently in Philippines for most people: not at all and they will not be able to even get a bank account.
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so an new number for ID theft to run up big bills and with electronic payments how deep in overdraft will an bank let someone get?
You should get out of your bubble more often. The world doesn't work the way you tell yourself it does.
Most of the world is not the USA.
A weird hybrid system of what the US Has (Score:3)
The US is shifting towards a National ID/RealID system on top of the social security system.
I understand the security/privacy concerns with that information in that system. Some of the information seems a bit too personal. Hopefully with the president stepping down in 2022, the next president will will be able to help the people of the Philippines without being such an authoritarian. In the right hands, this could help the Philippines modernize and advance. In the wrong hands, this could be devastating to the country.
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What's weird is that a social security number is just an account number. It doesn't identify you except maybe to the tax man, who doesn't care who you are as long as you pay your taxes.
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President of the Philippines (Score:3)
Hopefully with the president stepping down in 2022,
That is, the president of the Philippines.
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Ideologically I am opposed to a national ID system. As even with the Drivers Licence, I dislike having to carry a document to present to an official at their request.
However practically we need something. Especially as we have so much data that is important to our lives, and if someone misrepresents us, or even if it was accidently put into a different record, it creates such major problems.
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You mean "migrants" (example: people following reindeer herds for their food supply) or "undocumented" (example: people who just left the documents at home or lost them), not "illegals".
Re:Whataboutillegals? (Score:5, Informative)
If a foreign national enters your country without following the proper procedure for entry, registering, etc...then, they are in fact, in your country illegally.
Aka...alien in your country illegally = illegal alien = illegal migrant.
No need to jump through complex semantics to be politically correct.
The age old terms, proven over decades are still just fine to use.
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At least in the USA, being in the country without proper permission is a civil not a legal infraction; thus the term "undocumented" is more correct. I don't know how the law in the Philippines compares to the USA in this case.
At to the orginial question, it is better for everyone that undocumented people get centralized IDs. I'm not convinced that an undocumented person's ID should be obviously distinct from a citizen or a documented immigrant; I'm sure that police and employers will have a way to find out
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"Illegal alien" is used in federal law [cornell.edu].
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Sure; doesn't mean that's the most accurate term, though. Laws are often written by people who want to push a point of view, not by people who want to use the most correct term.
I was replying to someone who seemed to think that "undocumented" was politically correct. That's as may be, but I was pointing out that it is primarily "correct", and any political-ness was being added by themselves. Perhaps I was not explicit enough. Certainly, both "illegal alien" and "undocumented alien" are commonly used and
Re:Whataboutillegals? (Score:4, Interesting)
Philippines do not really have illegal immigrants in any significant numbers.
Basically Philippines is a low average income country so there is much higher pressure of people wanting to go out than get in.
In fact the sending of workers abroad is a huge industry, it is so big that OFWs(over sea filippino workers) have their own passport control lines on airports and the money they send home to their families contributes a significant part to the national income.
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Philippines is 31st largest economy of 186 countries in 2020 according to the World Bank, a couple of rankings below Israel. Not exactly poor.
I also suspect that the Philippines are not hand wringing in overt political correctness. There seems to be a lot of hand waving and word mincing of the original query in that regard.
I think the original question was not about how many (or how few) but about how the few or many they DO have are classified.
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Yes, it is a large economy and definitely not the poorest country in the world.
But the GDP per capita is still only 3,485 USD/year.
Comparing to neighboring countries:
Indonesia: 4,135
Malaysia 11,414
Taiwan 22,497
China 10,261
Vietnam 2,715
You can see that only one has lower and that not much lower. But most have significantly more.
And comparing to world average: 11,428 only about 1/3, thus definitely on the poor side. It is such a big economy mostly because of the huge population, being 12th largest in the worl
No DNA profile? Amateurs. (Score:2)
Why not dna profile? They might as well get that too.
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Likely because DNA profiles require more complex solutions.
Fingerprints, facial photos and iris scans are easy to collect with not much equipment required.
The rest of the information already exists in the statistics authority system.
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I can understand the high approval rating (Score:4)
As the current system is a mess with huge number of alternate IDs most of them pretty hard to get.
Some in use include:
Social Security System Card - mostly applicable to people who have worked in major companies.
Government Service Insurance System Card - Government employees
Unified Multi-Purpose Identification Card - supposed to be commonly available but not really apparently possible in reality.
Land Transportation Office Driverâ(TM)s License. - most people do not have drivers licences even if they drive
Professional Regulatory Commission ID - this for workers in few regulated fields like lawyers, doctors, engineers and similar.
Overseas Workers Welfare AdministrationE-Card - this is for overseas filippino workers.
Commission on Elections Voter's ID - Everyone who has voted is supposed to get one of these, but they have apparently not been issued a lot..
Philippine National Police Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence - Most people with guns do not have this though they are supposed to have. This applies thus mostly to people like security guards.
Senior Citizen ID - Not commonly available, supposed to the companion to the Social Security System Card but getting one is apparently not easy even if you get the benefits.
Airman License - obviously not that common
Philippine Postal ID - This is the actually most common form of ID I think and fairly easy and fairly low price to get.
Seafarer's Record Book - for seamen
Passport - You need one of the other IDs to get this...
For minors School ID is commonly accepted as generic ID.
Totalitarian dictatorship? (Score:3)