By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The members of Anakpawis Partylist and the Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement) trooped to the national office of the Social Security System (SSS) to protest the implementation of the Unified Multi-purpose Identification (UMID) system.

According to KMU in its web page, the UMID system will be serve as a tool for the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to spy on its citizens and make it also as a source of funds for its electoral campaigns.

KMU Secretary General Roger Soluta said that at the core of UMID system is the national identification system which is being proposed by the government since former President Fidel Ramos and was resurrected by unseated President Joseph Estrada. Soluta said this is now being railroaded by the Arroyo administration.

The UMID-complaint card or all-in-one utility card will take over the functions of the cards of the 50 million members of SSS, Government Security and Insurance System (GSIS), Philhealth and Pag-ibig, The said card will bear a common reference number (CRN) which will be the primary identifier of a card holder in transaction.

During the term of Ramos, he directed government agencies through Executive Order (EO) 800 to adopt a uniformed data collection for existing identification system.

The Supreme Court assailed the EO as unscontitutional saying it is an outright violation of the right of the citizens to privacy. The Arroyo government issued its version through the EO 420 on April 2005. This was met with protests mostly from militants.

Soluta said that the National Computerized ID system proposal of Ramos was strongly opposed by the public more than a decade ago and was even invalidated by the SC in 1998. “Now the Arroyo administration is resurrecting the ID system as part of its so-called ‘anti-terror efforts.’

There will be 12 million IDs for the next five years costing up to P1.7 billion. The new GSIS ID card which will be on its initial roll-out this March will cost P270 million or P 180 per piece while the new SSS-Philpost card will cost P140 each.

In January 2008 Arroyo through its subsequent EO said that the Social Security ID System will be the core of the UMID system. She directed the SSS to implement the streamlining and harmonization of the ID systems of all government agencies and government owned and controlled corporations.
“The Department of Defense and AFP have been strongly advocating for the implementation of an ID system. This could be a part of the AFP’s desperate attempt to ‘execute the final phase of counterinsurgency’ as its June 30 deadline nears.” Soluta said.

Anakpawis Representative Joel Maglunsod said that the unified ID system will serve a dual purpose for the Arroyo government. He said that it will be a money-making scheme to generate campaign funds and as a convenient way to embed a barcide and trackdown Filipinos.

“Instant destruction of our civil liberties – that is what this new ID system spells out.” said Maglunsod.# nordis.net