Access to nat’l ID data either by court or owner’s consent only

“It’s very explicit in the law that only under two situations (information will be) shared. Only if the citizen says yes or the court says yes,” National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Lisa Grace Bersales said. (PNA file photo)

MANILA — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday allayed fears of unauthorized data access to the National ID System, clarifying any retrieval will only be allowed under two circumstances– the presence of a court order or the owner’s consent.

“It’s very explicit in the law that only under two situations (information will be) shared. Only if the citizen says yes or the court says yes,” National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Lisa Grace Bersales told reporters in a press briefing.

Asked what will happen to those who opt out from submitting information for the National ID System, the official said they will not be forced.

“It’s not explicit in the law that this is mandatory, no one will be forced to enroll in the National ID System,” she said.

However, she pointed out those who did not avail will eventually be compelled to register.

“They will have difficulty in doing business with the government and the private sector eventually, because requirement for doing business is the National ID,” she warned.

On Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the Philippine Identification System Act or Republic Act 11055.

The Philippine ID System is composed of three components, the PhilSys Number (PSN), PhilID and PhilSys Registry, with PSA acting as the PhilSys Registry.

According to Bersales, 10 basic identity questions and the completion of biometrics will be asked from the applicant.

Of the 10 questions, three will be optional, namely the mobile number, marital status, and email address.