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THE
government is set to implement the Unified
Multipurpose-ID (UM-ID) System in 2008 after a
private-sector partner is chosen based on the prescribed
build-operate-transfer (BOT) selection procedures.
According to a statement from the National Economic and
Development Authority (Neda), Socioeconomic Planning
Secretary Romulo Neri had informed President Arroyo in a
recent memorandum that the implementation of the UM-ID
system is on track “despite the absence of a national
appropriation for the purpose.”
The
statement said the Supreme Court (SC) earlier ruled that
the implementation of the UM-ID is within the
President’s power and prerogative as chief executive.
The UM-ID aims to streamline and reduce the cost of
maintaining the different ID systems in the government.
“It is
not a national ID system, the SC said in its decision
handed down last year. However, the SC said that the
implementation [of the] UM-ID system cannot be covered
by any separate national appropriation, as it is only
Congress which can do so when it establishes a national
ID system,” said the Neda statement.
Three
government agencies, the Neda, National Statistics
Office (NSO) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth)
are set to complete the pilot tests by the third quarter
of 2007.
Neri,
also the Neda director general, said the ongoing pilot
phase of the implementation of the UM-ID is to determine
the technical configuration and specifications for the
UM-ID system, including hardware, software and other
resource requirements; and the specific applications for
the UM-ID system, including time-and-attendance
monitoring, payroll and salary payment through ATMs, and
health insurance claims and reimbursement of government
personnel, and participating hospitals and medical
professionals.
Around
600 government personnel from the pilot agencies have
already been enrolled in the Central Verification and
Enrollment Agency registry lodged at the NSO as part of
the pilot implementation. The registry is limited to 14
data items supplied by each enrollee as provided in
Executive Order 420 establishing the UM-ID.
A Common
Reference Number (CRN), which will be an enrollee’s
unique identifier for life, is generated and assigned
once the enrollee’s birth records and biometrics data
have been verified and validated.
Neri
said the biometrics capture, verification, and
registration of employees in the pilot agencies is
ongoing and will continue until the target number of at
least 5,000 UM-ID cards with CRN is produced.
“As
early as January 2007, the pilot agencies were provided
with data capture equipment such as computers, cameras,
finger scanners and document scanners as well as the
UM-ID Enrollment and Issuance System. It is expected
that the pilot implementation will be completed by the
third quarter of the year,” Neri said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Neda assistant director general Daniel
Pabellon said in a statement that the Technical Working
Group on the UM-ID System is also looking into the use
of Radio Frequency or the contactless smart card
technology, as well as various other applications for
the UM-ID card.
Pabellon
said the ID card can be a secure debit or credit card,
especially for government pensioners, a voter’s ID card,
and a reloadable electronic pass for train or bus
commuters, among others.
He added
that the related investments and maintenance cost of
contactless smart card technology continues to drop
relative to other card technologies, and is more open to
customization and upgrading with its higher storage
capacity, making it easier to integrate a wider range of
applications for the greater convenience of cardholders.
Executive Order 420 was issued in April 2005
establishing the UM-ID System, which requires all
government agencies, and government-owned and controlled
corporations to streamline and harmonize their ID
systems. |
