(UPDATED) - President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act and presented the new Bangsamoro law to Moro leaders in separate ceremonies on Monday afternoon, August 6.
The Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act mandates the issuance of a single official identification card for all citizens and foreign residents that would serve as a de facto national identification number.
The new law is expected to improve efficiency and transparency in public services as well as promote ease of doing business, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said in a statement.
"For the ordinary Juan de la Cruz, the signing of this Act means that he will no longer have to present multiple identification cards simply to prove his identity," Roque said.
"This streamlining of information makes it likewise harder to commit identity theft or fraud," he added.
The measure was approved by the Bicameral Conference Committee on May 23, 2018.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, who sponsored the measure, earlier said there would an an initial fund of P25 billion for its implementation this year.
The measure authorizes the government to collate pictures, fingerprints, iris scan, family background and other significant details of each citizen.
In a separate ceremony on Monday, the President presented Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.
The measure, which paves for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), was signed into law two days after the President delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23.
The signing of the BOL, previously called the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), is the culmination of decades-long peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the rebel groups in Mindanao.
The ceremony was attended by the Cabinet members, members of the Senate, members of the House of Representatives, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) officials, members of the diplomatic corps, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) officials, and members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC). (MVI/SunStar Philippines)