You've probably been asked for a valid ID a few times when applying for another valid ID. Obtaining a valid government-issued ID in the Philippines has been taxing for all Filipinos, but this Filipino Tech Company may be able to help in resolving this issue with their latest ID card technology called Tetrix Link Card, powered by blockchain technology.

The Philippines has been discussing the implementation of a unified national ID system since the early 1970s in order for citizens to easily gain access to government programs and social services. Several plans and versions of the system have been initiated by previous presidents, but the majority of them have been rejected by the Supreme Court due to the possibility of violating citizens' privacy rights.

For many years, citizens have endured the burden of lining up at crowded government offices just to get a copy of their IDs or apply for government-issued IDs. Most of the time, citizens must take a full day off work to visit government offices in order to obtain a document or ID, causing stress and wasting valuable time and resources for everyone. Additionally, not all IDs are the same. Paper IDs without chips that are issued by some government agencies are easy to copy and forge. Furthermore, some local government offices lack databases to store this data, making it more difficult for them to verify the validity of IDs and other information.

Meanwhile, both Malaysia and Thailand were able to successfully implement their own national ID, which has also been upgraded throughout the years. With Thailand's national ID, they added a new biometrics-based digital security feature and mobile banking. On the other hand, the MyKad Card from Malaysia can store a lot of data, including a driver's license, a passport and other travel documents, medical records, and even a reloadable wallet that serves as an ATM card.

Now the Problem...

A single unified ID is not as simple as it sounds. Other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, also attempted to implement it but eventually abandoned the unified ID due to a variety of issues.

As of this writing, 72 million Filipinos have registered with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) for National ID, but there are still issues that the Philippines must address, including:

Invasion of privacy and surveillance: The government could use it as a tool for surveillance because they have easy access to when, where, why, and how people use their IDs.

Costs: The government would have to make a significant investment in the facilities and equipment required to maintain this type of system.

Data security: The PSA civil registry system is outsourced to a third party. Currently, the government is not prepared to handle such a complex system.

Technical Complexity and Logistical Issues:The ID system is complex and difficult to implement, with ill-equipped registration centers and employees will take a bit of time to adjust to the new system.

Prone to Data Breach: The COMELEC's voter registration data, including biometrics and personal information, was stolen in 2016. The hackers were able to make the data public.

Violations of Civil Rights: The government can use this system and abuse their power for oppressive activities. 

More on that here: Pros and cons of national ID system | GMA News Online (gmanetwork.com)

How can the Philippines Solve Its National ID-related problems?

This is where Tetrix, a Filipino tech developer company, comes in with their Tetrix Link card, which uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to facilitate trouble-free information sharing with just a single tap from your smartphone. You can also use the QR code to access the data on the card. The Tetrix Link Card stores all of its card data on its blockchain.

So how can this technology modernize the current ID system in the Philippines? Here's how Tetrix Link card can help solve this problem: 

• Tetrix Link Card offers its users the ability to control which information they want to share and store
• The network that stores all of the data employs blockchain technology, which eliminates the possibility of hacks and other malicious activities
• It recreates the way we use physical wallets by allowing self-custodial data
• Simple to use user interface
• It will eventually be able to store mission-critical data and documents such as resumes, vaccine certificates, data inside NFTs, etc.
• Tetrix Link will soon allow users to access all of their data while offline
• Using the card to receive and transfer digital currencies via Pitaka wallet is also in development

Sources:

Why the Supreme Court rejected the national ID system | The Manila Times

Can a national ID database ease the burden of Covid-19 in the Philippines? | Heinrich Böll Stiftung Hong Kong | Asia Global Dialogue (boell.org)

Pros and cons of national ID system | GMA News Online (gmanetwork.com)

https://tetrix.xyz/assets/Tetrix-Whitepaper.pdf