BY JP LOPEZ

SENATORS yesterday slammed the military’s revival of proposals for national identification system as part of efforts to eradicate insurgency.

"The ticklish question is simple: In reviving the proposal, can we trust this government to respect the basic, constitutionally guaranteed rights of its citizens?" said majority leader Francis Pangilinan.

He noted that the Arroyo government has a number of times violated the Constitution as shown by Supreme Court decisions "in a string of landmark cases."

He cited the tribunal’s decisions against the people’s initiative, the calibrated pre-emptive response policy on mass actions, Proclamation 1017 which put the country under a state of national emergency in February 2006, and Executive Order 464 which prohibits key officials from attending congressional inquiries without President Arroyo’s permission.

Pangilinan noted the Supreme Court has also declared as unconstitutional a national ID system proposed during the Ramos administration.

"If the SC has found this government in repeated violation of the rule of law and the Constitution, then we view this latest proposal with grave reservations," Pangilinan said.

The Supreme Court in April 2006 upheld Arroyo’s Executive Order 420 for an ID system but covering only government workers.

Sen. Francis Escudero said the proposed national ID system "has doubtful benefits with only one clear purpose which is to put dog tags on every Filipino."

He said Filipinos already have a consolidated ID in the form of the PhilHealth card, which he said has a clear provision for social services.

"An ideal national ID should be a social services tool. It should be one that would entitle the holder to assistance and benefits and not as a security instrument foisted at the expense of the people’s privacy," he said.

He said the PhilHealth card is a de facto national ID. Republic Act 7875, the National Health Insurance Act of 1995, mandates the universal and compulsory coverage of Filipinos in a national health insurance system.

Instead of embarking on a Holy Grail-like chase for a national ID, Escudero said it would be better for government to expand PhilHealth.

"The new ID system will only create a lucrative ID lamination industry out of yet another public document with low social acceptability because of its equally low social purpose," he said.

LAW NEEDED

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago said a law passed by Congress would be needed if the military proposes a single ID system that would be compulsory for all branches of government.

"A mere executive order will not suffice," she said.

Santiago cited the 2006 case of Kilusang Mayo Uno vs the NEDA Director General where the court ruled that the President can merely authorize a uniform ID data collection and ID format by executive order, because of her power of control over the executive branch.

However, Santiago said, the tribunal ruled in the same case that a law passed by Congress is necessary if the ID system is characterized by three features – a special appropriation, when the ID card system is compulsory on all branches of government, and when it requires personal data beyond what is routinely required.

"The President’s Executive Order 420 was upheld by the Supreme Court only because the Court held that it did not establish a national card system," she said.

She said the proposed national ID scheme should avoid violation of the constitutionally protected "right of the people to information on matters of public concern."

"The constitutional right to information does not include personal matters," she said.

CERTIFY BILL

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said if Arroyo is serious about having a national ID system benefit the people, "she merely has to certify the bill I filed as urgent."

Lacson’s Senate Bill 196, which he filed at the start of the 14th Congress last year, provides for a reference card system that will simplify transactions with government agencies while protecting citizens from crime and terrorism.

The bill aims to institute a national reference card system and create the National Registration Coordinating Commission.

Under the bill, all citizens are assigned a reference number upon birth and issued a National Reference Card free of charge at age 18, in a manner prescribed by the National Registration Coordinating Commission.

The card, which shall contain security features, contains the bearer’s name, address, blood type and next of kin.

The measure limits the number of persons who have access to the data on the card, which will be the only official identification of the bearer in dealing with government agencies and applying for driver’s license, passport, marriage license, death certificate, and business permits.

STIFF OPPOSITION

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon filed a similar bill in previous congresses to make it easier for the public to transact business with government offices.

Biazon and Sen. Joker Arroyo said the proposal would again meet stiff opposition because of previously raised concerns.

Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel said he has long been proposing a national ID system but it is essentially aimed at facilitating routine transactions in government agencies and private firms for the benefit of the public.

"I don’t know of any country which has won the war against terrorism because of a national ID system. By all means, let us adopt an identification system but its purpose is to facilitate legal transactions," he said.

He recalled the report about an Al Qaeda terrorist who participated in the bombing of the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon building in Washington D.C. on Sept. 11, 2001. He said the day after the bombing, the residency application of that same terrorist was approved by the United States government.

"This goes to show that even if you issued 1,000 IDs to a would-be or suspected terrorist, that would not prevent a terrorist act. So I think it is a wrong premise to say that we should adopt an ID system to fight terrorism," Pimentel said.

A MERE PLOY

Militant organizations called the military’s move a ploy for declaration of martial law.

"The Arroyo regime is toying with all the ingredients of another martial law. It has used emergency powers in 2006. It has test-run a curfew in 2007. It seeks the revival of the anti-subversion law. Now it wants a national ID system in the name of national security. The regime wants to keep the nation subservient, under an iron heel," said Renato Reyes, secretary general of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan).

He also said that given the military record and the fact the AFP wants the ID system for the counter-insurgency drive "means that there is a high possibility that human rights will again be violated."

He said if government approves the military proposal, "it would be like nationalizing the dreaded cedula campaign of Gen. (ret.) Jovito Palparan" who has been blamed by militants for a number of cases of political killings.

Palparan, while commander of the 7th Infantry Division in Central Luzon, required villagers in Nueva Ecija to acquire residence certificates or cedulas as proof they were residents of a certain place. The requirement was part of his anti-communist drive.

"Those without ID’s would be immediately labeled as suspects. This can open the floodgates for further human rights abuses, including travel restrictions, unreasonable searches and seizure, denial of services, harassment and so on," Reyes said.

Rafael Mariano, chairman of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said implementing the national ID scheme is aimed at securing Arroyo’s hold on power beyond 2010.

"Historically speaking, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the longest tyrant in power in the country next only to Ferdinand Marcos. She has been in Malacañang for seven years and is planning to surpass Marcos’ record. We will definitely have darker days ahead if the fascist cabal in Malacañang and the military institutions will have their way," he said. – With Job Realubit