A prominent NGO in the Philippines has called for a national ID using a unique national ID number, a tamper-proof ID card with appropriate personal and biometric information along with a citizen registry.The government must ensure that no Filipino is without an official NSO/PSA birth certificate, which can be achieved by undertaking a mass civil registration, says the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF)-an organization advocating market-friendly reforms, good governance, and economic and political liberty.”Presently, numerous Filipinos, many of whom are poor or live in far-flung areas, do not have official birth certificates registered with the NSO/PSA, and therefore suffer from lack of access to public and private services requiring birth certificates,” the group said.”We also call on the incoming Duterte administration to work with Congress to immediately pass a national ID system bill that would not only provide each Filipino with an official government ID, but also address serious and valid concerns with respect to security, integrity and privacy of personal information,” the FEF said.”The government must ensure that the database of a national ID system must be secure and not susceptible to hacking as happened in the recent ComeLeak mess,” the group said.In April, The Philippines' Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured the public that biometric details were not lost in a hacking of its website a few weeks ago. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez has told the public that sensitive biometrics data were not included in the database leak by a hacker group.A defacing of the Comelec website fuelled fears of a major biometric hack, given that the body has registered most of the country's population ahead of a national poll this year.
Philippines told to develop biometric civil registry
