Govt to implement multi-purpose ID in August

MANILA, Philippines- The government is set to release the first batch of the controversial multi-purpose identification card, which will contain all pertinent information of a citizen. The Social Security System and the National Statistics Office on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, which will pave the way for the implementation of the P3-billion Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) System. SSS president and CEO Romulo Neri told reporters that the first phase of the UMID is the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), which will cost P650 million and will be funded by the National Statistics Office. The first batch, to be released in August this year, will be for the 10 million SSS members. The second part is the card production, which costs about P100 to P150 each. The card will include information about the user's details such as SSS number, tax identification number, Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) number, voter's number and all other information about a user given to government agencies. “We'll be using the fund of NSO for duplication. The central verification and enrollment system that will be developed including the hardware, software and other components procured in this project related to the system shall be owned by the NSO," Neri said. He added that Philhealth, which has members of between 40 million to 50 million, will also distribute the card. Bidding for the project will be held next month. The ID may also be used by voters for the upcoming 2010 national elections. GMANews.TV