Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BILL No._ L096

Introduced by HONORABLE PHILIP A. PICHAY

EXPLANATORY NOTE

No country is without any form of identification since every human transaction
requires it in one form or another. The Constitutions takes for granted that such
ordinary forms of identification as birth and baptismal certificates, marriage contract,
voter's ID, licenses and the like give sufficient ground for the open and unhampered
exercise of rights and privileges exclusive to Filipino citizens. However, there are
unseen dangers in mere legal assumptions. There ought to be a single document or
instrument constituting official proof of one’s citizenship. This bill precisely aims to
build a stronger legal infrastructure toward a citizen identification system, in
particular, and a national identification system, in general.

‘To achieve this end, this bill seeks to expand the mission, mandate and specific
functions of the Bureau of Immigration to lay the foundation of a national ID system.
In the present organizational and functional set-up, it is the mission of the Bureau of
Immigration “to control and regulate the immigration of aliens in the country.”

As much as the Bureau is capable to account for aliens, the more it can
account for Filipino citizens. Precisely, the author proposes that the Bureau of
Immigration be the proper agency henceforth mandated to determine, validate, and
issue certificates of citizenship to all Filipino citizens in accordance with existing laws.

It is high time that an agency of government be reposed the responsibility to
issue citizenship IDs which shall be the Bureau of Immigration as suggested under
this proposed measure. At the same time, it shall be held responsible for the
confidentiality of its personal database and the free movement of such data shall be
upon a lawful court order. In short, it shall be tasked to serve the role of a Privacy
Commission or a Data Protection Ombudsman for the privacy and confidentiality of all
stored personal database in its repository.

There shall henceforth be a Filipino citizen ID to be solely issued by the Bureau
of Immigration that shall be used for whatever legal purpose it may best serve the
bona-fide holder of such ID. Since the Constitution is clear on the rights «and
privileges that are deemed exclusive for Filipino citizens, then the Filipino citizen ID as


a matter of constitutional right, should be issued to each and every Filipino citizen
certified as such Filipino citizen by the Bureau.

‘Toward this end, it shall be made mandatory for all Filipino citizens to secure
their Filipino citizen IDs upon payment of the administrative fees as may be
promulgated by the Bureau of Immigration. In this way, the bill will not necessitate

any special appropriation on the part of the government for the implementation of this
Act.

Approval of this bill is earnestly prayed for.

PHILIP/A.

MN

iin



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.__1096

Introduced by HONORABLE PHILIP A. PICHAY

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PHILIPPINE CITIZENSHIP
IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress of the
Philippines in Session assembled:

SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the “Philippine Citizenship
Identification System Act of 2001.”

SEC. 2. There shall be established a Philippine citizenship identification (ID)
system in the Philippines to be administered by the Bureau of Immigration, which is
hereby mandated to determine, validate and issue certificates of citizenship to all
Filipino citizens in accordance with existing laws.

SEC. 3. All Filipino citizens, who have reached the age of majority, shall be
required to secure a citizen's ID card as provided for by this Act.

SEC. 4. The citizen’s ID card shall contain the personal circumstances of the
bearer and such information as may be deemed appropriate by the implementing
agency. Each identification cardholder shall be assigned a permanent number which
shall be non-transferable. Anyone who, through any means, successfully secures
another number, and any person who participates therein, shall be punished in
accordance with Section 12 of this Act.

SEC 5. The ID card provided for by this Act shall be required when a person
performs the following acts:

a. Acknowledges any document before a notary public;
b, Takes an oath of office upon election or appointment to any position in the
government service;

c. Applies for and receives any license, certificate or permit from any public
authority;

d. Pays any tax or fee and receives any money from any public fund;

e. Enters into any other transaction with a government or private agency. *


SEC. 6. As the repository of data and sole issuing authority, the Bureau of
Immigration shall institute the necessary measures to safeguard the information,
under pain of appropriate sanctions, secured in the implementation of the provisions
of this Act.

No such information shall be released to any agency, office or instrumentality,
government or otherwise, nor shall the same be used against any person, without
lawful order of the court. Any information secured in violation of the immediately
preceding prohibition shall be inadmissible in evidence in any proceeding and for any
purpose.

SEC. 7. The Bureau of Immigration shall provide for the rules and regulations
for the implementation of this Act: Provided, That no identification card shall issue
without the payment of the appropriate and reasonable administrative fee which
amount shall be determined by the Bureau.

SEC. 8. Upon reaching the age of 17 years, or within a year before attaining
majority but not later than the minimum period needed by the implementing agency to
finally issue the identification card, every citizen required under this Act shall file his
application for the issuance of an identification card.

‘Those who are already over 17 years at the time of the effectivity of this Act
shall file their respective application within sixty (60) days from the date when the
Bureau shall have implemented the provisions of this Act. In case of staggered
implementation, the sixty (60) day period shall be counted from the date the
provisions of this Act are implemented in a particular region or district.

SEC. 9. Except those physically incapacitated, an application for an ID card
shall be filed personally by the person to whom the said card may be issued. Likewise,
he shall personally claim the same upon approval.

In the ease of the physically incapacitated, he may authorize another to file the
application and claim the card on his behalf: Provided, That such authorization,
sworn before an officer authorized by law to take an oath, shall be submitted with a
medical certification from a medical practitioner attesting to the physical incapacity of
the applicant.

SEC. 10. All applications shall be filed before the branch or office of the
Bureau located within the region or district where the applicant resides. A qualified
applicant shall claim his card from the same branch or office. In the absence of such
branch or office, an application may be filed before the branch or office of the nearest
region or district.

Residents of the National Capital Region may apply and claim their citizen’s ID
cards from the Central Office of the Bureau of Immigration or in such other offices as
the Bureau may designate.

SEC. 11. A person to whom an identification card is issued is obliged to
inform the branch or office from which he claimed the same in case of changes in, any
of the information entered into his personal data file.


Failure to do so within sixty (60) days from the occurrence of said circumstance
shall subject him to an administrative penalty equivalent to fifty percent (50%) of the
application fee.

SEC. 12. Any person who knowingly uses false information in applying for the
issuance of an identification card or who procures or attempts to procure the same for
himself or for a physically incapacitated person when duly authorized, through fraud,
or who utilizes an identification card other than his own, shall be punished with a fine
of not less than One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) but not more than Five Hundred
Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00) or an imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but
not more than one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of
the court.

Similarly, any public employee or officer who connives with the offender
mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph, or, on his own, causes the
issuance of an identification card or approves the application for the same, despite the
knowledge of existence of fraud or false information, shall suffer the corresponding

penalties imposed in the preceding paragraph and shall be immediately dismissed
from government service.

‘The penalties referred to above shall be imposed in addition to those provided
for acts and omissions punished by other penal laws.

SEC. 13. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations which are
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 14. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,