Wednesday, April 16, 2008 NBI uses card to improve release of clearances
A PLASTIC card, similar to the ones used in ATM transactions and containing a chip no different from the subscriber identification modules on digital mobile phones, is all you need now to get a clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The Clearance Renewal Card (CRC) is part of a technology system provided to the law enforcement agency by a Manila-based company called Mega Data Corporation. It was launched here in Cebu yesterday.
The current method of getting an NBI clearance involves filling up a back-to-back form, getting fingerprinted and then photographed. The application is then digitized and sent to the NBI headquarters for verification against records in the central computer.
Process
If one has a pending case or has a name similar to one that is facing charges, the clearance is withheld pending actual verification and interview. If the system clears the applicant, the clearance is released.
The problem with the method is that the applicant needs to go through the process again when he or she needs to have his clearance renewed and can no longer find his or her personal copy.
And even if the applicant managed to save his personal copy, the lines at the processing centers, which are manned by at least two persons, last hours.
“We serve up 450 to 500 people in the renewal kiosk here in Cebu City alone,” said NBI 7 director Medardo de Lemos yesterday, referring to the facility at the 4th floor of Robinson’s Place.
At the regional office, he said, they serve between 700 to 1000 people daily.
With the CRC, processing is faster.
The chip in the card stores pertinent information about the account holder. The cards are inserted in special machines that process the information, link up with the central computer and, if there is nothing on record, print the clearance.
No human intervention is necessary.
Anywhere
And because the machines don’t need to be manned, the NBI can place one wherever it is convenient, much like how ATM machines can be found almost all over the city. The machines can operate for as long as necessary.
“We are now studying the possibility of putting up a processing kiosk at the Ayala Mall and at SM City, anywhere there are a lot of people and anywhere convenient,” de Lemos said.
“They will be open for as long as the mall is open,” he said.
Right now, renewal kiosks that operate through the CRCs are located mostly in Manila. There is one in Cagayan de Oro and another one in Davao. (KNR)
