HRW: Muslim-only ID system in place in Tarlac town, urged for rest of Central Luzon

Officials in Central Luzon want a mandatory identification card system restricted only to the Muslim community in the region.

An article on the Human Rights Watch website said the local government in Paniqui, Tarlac had already imposed the system, and that the rest of Central Luzon's seven provinces were being urged to follow suit.

Senior Superintendent Aaron Aquino, the police regional director, was quoted as saying that such a system would "identify and weed out undesirable individuals and terrorists.”

The Muslim-only ID system was proposed amid the ongoing clashes in Marawi City between government troops and the Islamic State-linked Maute group.

An estimated 26,000 Muslims reside in Central Luzon.

The report added that the Muslim-only ID system could violate the rights to equal protection of the law, freedom of movement, and other basic rights.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other human rights treaties to which the Philippines is a party prohibit discrimination based on religion.

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa said the identification system was initiated locally, but that he doesn't see any problem with it.

"Meron silang regional peace and order council, yan siguro lumabas sa pinag-usapan nila. wala pa akong nakitang problema," Dela Rosa said during a press briefing in Marawi City.

He said local authorities use it to keep track of evacuees, and that it wasn't restricted to Muslims only.

"Ang ginagawa nila, lahat ng dumadating na evacuees, dinodocument nila para masiguro na walang makapunta na di dapat pumunta," he said.

"Yung mga bagong dating ang may recording. Imagine kung ilan ang Muslim diyan sa Pampanga at Tarlac, yun ba isasali mo  pa ba sa recording. Ang tinututukan diyan yung mga bagong dating. Hindi yun purely for Muslims, pati Chirstian, pati Amerikano," he added.

Dela Rosa said he doubted that the practice was violating any rights.

"Recording lang naman. Hindi naman pinipigilan sila. I don’t know where the violations are," he said. — Jessica Bartolome/NB/KVD/RSJ, GMA News