Senator Panfilo M. Lacson on Saturday pressed for the full implementation of the Philippine Identification System (National ID) Act as it would speed up the country's economic recovery following a 9.5-percent contraction in 2020 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Press Release
A full implementation of the Philippine Identification System (National ID) Act will speed up the country s economic recovery following a 9.5-percent contraction in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said.
Lacson, one of the authors and the principal sponsor of the measure in the Senate, said the National ID system will promote financial inclusion and streamline government services - both of which are needed at this time. The lack of identification creates formidable barriers for the downtrodden and the poor, and creates even larger barriers between the government and the people. Hence, we should push for the implementation of the National ID if we want to further strengthen our response not only against the pandemic, particularly in the roll-out of the much-awaited vaccines, but in many of our future endeavors, he said at the third annual economic and political briefing of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Graduate School.