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| Tony - You display your anti-Filipino bias too clearly. I am not waving the Philippine flag when I critiqued your article! And if I were - is there anything wrong with that? (I deny that I display an anti-Filipino bias, and I find your remark insulting, to say the least. There is nothing wrong with waving the Filipino flag as long as � and here you disregarded the second half of my statement � you do not bury your head in the sand and deny that there is something basically the matter with this country. ACA) Actually, I am waving the flag of logical clarity and objectivity! Why is it that you have to reduce everyone who doesn't agree with usual stereotype (The Philippines is going down the drain!) to be a Filipino - this is what we Ateneo learned as 'argumentum ad hominem'! I am writing from Southern Cal - in fact I am writing from a beach city. (What �flag of logical clarity and objectivity�? What facts and statistics did you trot out to disprove my statement that the Philippines is way behind its neighbors in exports and population management? I gave you the page numbers in the 2005 World Almanac where you can verify my figures, yet you were not gentlemanly enough to admit that I was right. I reprinted the statement of BSP Governor Rafael Buenaventura saying the same thing that I was saying, yet you were not decent enough to admit the common fabric of our analyses. (You make sarcastic and insulting statements against me � �are you a ouija board expert? you�re lucky you do not earn a living as a Wall Street economist,� etc, - and then you accuse me of making argumentum ad hominem against you! Where did you learn your Latin? I also went to the Ateneo de Manila, for nine years, including six years of compulsory Latin. It is you who is making ad hominem attacks against me, instead of trying to disprove my arguments with facts and figures. ACA) Going back to the question - do you think any coulmn or your coumn can sell if you didn't harp on or veer towrds the edge of focusing on the dark side? You evaded the question. That is why op/ed journalists are now as trusted and as respected as personal injury attorneys: they only see money in blood. The truth is just a passer-by. (In case you don�t know, a columnist is not involved in selling the newspaper in which he writes. That is the job of the editors and the business managers. ACA) How can you equate yourself with an investment analysts' job description? Your forecasts are so wide and so loose that they can't be 'on target'. (I never equated myself �with an investment analyst�s job description.� YOU DID! Re-read your own letter above. Where did you learn Logic? You not only misquote other people, you also forget what you wrote. ACA). Meanwhile - admit it - you are a reincarnation of Dan Rather -- you are a terrorist - meaning - op/ed journalists are terrorists in that they can terrorize numbers and statistics long and well enough to suit their editorial positions. (You are the one who is a verbal terrorist, who cannot argue with facts and figures and logic, who does not admit when he is proven wrong, who habitually misquotes other people and does not remember what he wrote, who uses insulting language to cover up his lack of logical and factual arguments. ACA) Manuel Tiangha, [email protected] February 07, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Yes to National ID By Antonio C. Abaya Written Feb. 22, 2005 For the Manila Standard, February 24 issue Let us agree at the very start that a national ID card � especially a non-electronic type � is not going to stop terrorism tomorrow, even if such a system were in place today. The move to start issuing ID cards � almost certainly a non-electronic type - at the municipal and provincial levels, while an electronic national ID is being debated in Congress, is a welcome show of support from local government officials, in contrast to the mealy-mouthed dillydallying from the senators. But a non-electronic ID card is of very little value in the war against terrorism. Whoever planted those bombs in Davao City, General Santos City and Makati City on Valentine�s Day would have done so just the same even if a national ID card system were in place, even an electronic one. It is just physically impossible to monitor the movements and whereabouts of 50 million adult Filipinos. Having said this, however, I hasten to add that I support, and have always supported, an electronic national ID card since it was first proposed during the presidency of Cory Aquino. (See my article �National ID : Why Not?� Oct. 10, 2001.) The Philippine State being a weak one, and President Aquino being a weak president as well, the national ID idea was shot down before it could even fly, by both liberals and communists; the liberals out of fear of invasion of privacy, and the communists out of fear that the ID card would be used to root them out. Things did not improve for the national ID card during the presidency of Fidel Ramos. If anything, it got even worse. The National Security Adviser, my friend General Jose Almonte, publicly promoted the national ID card as a means of keeping track of the daily movement of people and thus, they hoped, ferret out the criminals and the subversives among them. Naturally, this raised the hackles even more of the liberals and the communists, and the idea was subsequently dropped. I wrote in my Manila Chronicle and Philippine Star columns then that monitoring the daily movement of hundreds of thousands of people � through registry slips that they would have had to fill up in hotels, motels, pensions, airplanes, ships and buses � would have required an entire army of bureaucrats to sift through mountains of registry slips, 99.99% of which would have been utterly useless from the security point of view. There were and are better means to catch that .01%. President Arroyo and DILG Secretary Angelo Reyes have fallen into the same black hole that President Ramos and Secretary Almonte fell in during their watch, as far as the national ID card is concern: treating it as a security tool against, this time, terrorists�.and thus meeting the same resistance from liberals and communists. I wrote then, and I write again, that the best way to package and market the national ID card is as an administrative tool to clean up the voters� registration list. Who can possibly be against clean and honest elections, except the magicians in the payroll of politicians? With an electronic voter�s ID card system in place, the strong Philippine Republic and a strong Philippine president can issue executive orders that without a valid electronic voter�s ID card, you cannot vote, you cannot apply for a driver�s license or a Philippine passport, you cannot apply for a foreign visa, you cannot become a member of the SSS or the GSIS, you cannot join the Civil Service, you cannot enroll in any high school, college or university, you cannot join the police or the military, you cannot apply for a bank loan or any kind of insurance policy, you cannot apply for police or NBI clearance, you cannot buy or sell chattel, property or shares of stocks, you cannot connect to any utilities or buy a cellphone, you cannot get married or have your marriage annulled, you cannot practice any profession that requires licensing, you cannot file any civil or criminal case, you cannot apply for a gun permit or a credit card, you cannot be an incorporator of a corporation, you cannot operate any business that requires a license or a permit, you cannot be released from prison, you cannot buy any domestic airline or shipping ticket, you cannot be admitted to any hospital, you cannot be cremated, you cannot be buried in any cemetery, etc. The idea is: you have to prove that you are who you say you are, and the electronic voter�s ID card becomes the preferred mode of identification. Without making a fuss about it, the voter�s ID card becomes the de facto national ID card. And it would take the place of the easily faked and intrinsically unverifiable community tax certificate or cedula, which anyone can buy at any municipio under as many fictitious names and fictitious addresses as one wants or needs to. Why this is still being used in this country to authenticate documents is beyond me. Of course, an electronic voter�s ID card is not entirely fool-proof and Pinoy-proof. There will always be con artists who will find ways to get around it. But it can be finessed and improved as the need arises. The process could probably take more than ten years, but there may not be any need to pass any new laws or to set aside a new budget since it was actually started in the run-up to the May 2004 elections. Millions of voters, including myself, went to their barangay halls and had their photos and thumbprints taken by machines that were supposed to be part of the process of producing electronic voter�s ID cards. But nothing happened. We never got those cards, and many of us were actually dropped, deliberately or accidentally, from the voter�s list, resulting in the disenfranchisement of two to four million voters. Neither the Comelec nor the magicians in Malacanang were ever called to account for this. If the electronic voter�s card is ever re-started, as I believe it should be, the idiots who fumbled it the first time around should not be allowed to have anything to do with it, and NGOs should be enlisted to make the process transparent. Properly configured, the electronic voter�s ID card would weed out multiple registrants or flying voters from voters� list. That in itself would be a major improvement in our public life. Cross-referenced with the data bases of the BIR and the DFA, it would reveal who travel abroad often but pay little or no taxes. Utility companies would know which past customers with unpaid bills are applying for reconnection at new addresses. The DPWH and other government agencies would know which past dishonest contractors are resurrecting under new corporate names. NGOs would more easily be able to verify if there are ghost soldiers, ghost teachers, ghost employees bloating government payrolls. The SEC would know if any would-be incorporator has pending or past estafa cases against him or her. The LTO would know which applicant for a renewed driver�s license has a history of carnapping, vehicular accidents or drunk driving, etc. This is not an invasion of everyone�s privacy. It is a constriction of the room for maneuver of those with a criminal or anti-social inclination. And if it snags an occasional terrorist or revolutionary militant, well and good. But that should not be its main intent, because if it were, it would be burdened with the stigma of failure early in its administrative life. The daily bombings in Iraq would not stop even if an ID card system were in place. They would just have terrorists and suicide bombers with the proper ID cards. So also in Israel and Palestine. So also in Mindanao and Metro Manila. Liberals and Communists Those who object to a national ID card on the grounds that they are an invasion of privacy are laboring under a misplaced sense of liberalism. As far as I know, all the countries of Western Europe, as well as the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe, have national ID card systems in place. So do Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and dozens of other countries. In Sweden, easily one of the most liberal countries in the world, when a baby is born, he or she is assigned a personnummer (or something like that), a personal number, which becomes the permanent numerical basis for his or her identity card for life.. In most of Europe, although an identity card is not strictly required, it is almost impossible to deal with government agencies, or even with private business (such as renting a house or taking a bank loan) without it.. In France, home of liberte, egalite, and fraternite, all adults are required to carry their identity cards in their persons, subject to random checks by the gendarmes on the streets. You have to prove that you are who you say you are. Even before 9/11, Americans have used the social security card as their ersatz national identity card. Since 9/11, no one can now open a bank account or apply for a driver�s license (among other things) without a social security card. Although it does not carry the bearer�s photo or thumbprint, the authenticity of the card is easily verifiable by computer from the system�s data base. You have to prove that you are who you say you are. The objection of communists to the national identity card stems from their fear that it will be used to smoke out their militants as they wage their revolution to establish a Maoist dictatorship of the proletariat, not because of their zealous concern for individuals� privacy.. In the Maoist state that they want to impose on everyone, there is no privacy and there are no individuals, only collectives doing the bidding of the state.. In objecting to a national ID card, Filipino communists and their na�ve allies in media and the clergy reveal the inherent hypocrisy of their position. All present and past communist or socialist states have or had national identity cards, and there is no reason to believe that a Philippine communist state under Joma Sison or Crispin Beltran or Teddy Casino would be any different. I do not know what it is called in Cuba or North Korea or China or Vietnam. But in the late, unlamented Soviet Union, it was known as the propiska, an internal passport that everyone was required to carry at all times. And there it was used to keep track of the movement of millions of people, as General Almonte envisaged it here. No one could stay longer than 72 hours in an address other than that recorded in the propiska, without the knowledge and permission of the milisya or local police, even if it is only another apartment on the same floor in the same building. The communists� Golden Rule, as always, is: Do not do unto Us what We will do unto You once We are in power. ***** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Reactions to �Yes to National ID� Tony, Just wondering about the cost of putting this system in place plus add another 40% tong , er , commision on top of it. And you've said it in your article it will not take long for someone enterprising enough to make money by selling his services. Why not just improve one of the systems that are already in place and put that on a national data bank that can be shared by all the govt. agencies ? Ray Eced, [email protected] February 25, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony! I for one is in favor of a national identification system and let us get rid of all other forms of ID such as the cedulas. It will simplify and facilitate transactions if there is only one ID requirement. Best regards, BoyNer Narciso Ner, [email protected] February 25, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I have no problem with the issuance of a national ID to every Filipino. However, my proposal is to cover only those that don't have existing SSS or GSIS ID. Either of the two IDs is a virtual 'national ID' in itself. I haven't heard that this kind of ID bears any spurious or dubious background as to the information about the cardholder considering that his employment and subsequent retirement benefits will be affected if acquiring such ID is tainted with fraud or falsification. This is unlike the driver's licenses, cedulas, voter's ID and other forms of ID which can be had without so much fuss or at stake to the cardholder in general. Therefore, Yes to National ID, except for those that don't have any SSS or GSIS ID. This will save a lot of money to the national government. Thanks. Rgds, Jerome Escobedo, [email protected] February 25, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, As always, Bravo! Yes, I remember reading your column on the National ID in the late 80s. I love your parting shot on the Communists' Golden Rule. Warm regards. Rick B. Ramos, [email protected] February 24, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww I really don't know why they are making a big deal of this ID System! For goodness sake, it's just an ID! YES to National ID. Maryann O�Connor, [email protected] February 25, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Gorilla: Saan ang ID mo, pare? Me: Wala. Gorilla: Puede ka namin dukutin. (fethes other monkeys). Walang ID ito. 2nd Gorilla: (subrosa to me) P200 lang pare, areglo na ito. Tony: NO. NO. NO. NO. When I bought a used car I spent nearly an hour with an office manned by gorillas of course "verifying" the liccense. The the gorilla at the desk asked for an amount thrice the one appearing in the receipt. This was all done in an office. What a hassle. Maybe Osama bin Laden is better than they are. I have a feeling right now that "contractors" are each others' throat getting the contract to manufacture the license card. But Golez who is no friend of the Leftists and civil libertarians has even a cautious comment. There must be a 24-hour office, said he, accessible by phone (that works) to answer for any discrepancy that might be raised. No such office will ever exist. The person in charge will be having a drink with his fellow monkeys. However, given all the above stupidities I am still willing to go for a card if the card is automatically a senior citizens' card and can be gotten in 30 minutes at an accessible office like atthe municipal hall, not Camp Crame or a safe house for monkeys with epaullettes. For free, of course. But how much will this system cost the taxpayer? Why doesn't the police do its work diligently without hassle to the people. I don't think they are doing a good job right now. With this ID system we would just be accentuating the soft-state mentality of our leaders. We already have a COMELEC ID. No, we don't have but we could at lesser cost implement one. They give you a scrap of paper, not even a thick one which easily crumples and gets mislaid. This woman Gastador Tangcangco used up zillions for her nutty project which she never accounted for. A COMELEC ID if strenghtened, updated and becomes trustworthy so that even banks accept it could be had for lesser costs. The COMELEC has already the people and the organization to implement it. Since the COMELEC is not the police, maybe more people will trust it. Ross Tipon, rosstipon@yahoo,com February 26, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Tony, I'm forwarding the article posted by Mon Ramirez (a staff of Cong. Satur Ocampo) in the "botomo" e-forum for your info in case you have not come accross it yet. Personally I see no reason why there is such a big hullaballoo on this matter as long as ONLY THE BASIC INFO necessary like name (as entered in the civil registry), age, mailing address, blood type or perhaps later, a DNA code and whether the person is a willing organ donor, are inputed in the I.D. Mabuhay! Ed J. Tirona, [email protected] February 27, 2005 MY REPLY. Since Satur Ocampo is a major luminary in the communist movement (and his staff presumably spear-carriers in it), it is to be expected that he will think up of a thousand and one reasons why we should not have a national ID card. But, by the same token, he should also explain why all past and present communist states had/have national ID cards and why the putative Philippine communist state that he wants to impose on all of us will also have one��.while he argues that the bourgeois state should not have one. Intellectual dishonesty, no less. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Mr. Antonio Abaya MANILA STANDARD At last I read an article on the National ID that dealt with issues that really matter! Please permit me to share with you a copy of a report written by members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences on the Nationwide Identity Systems which I also found interesting. Thank you! RENE G. TABABA, [email protected] Santan St., Mapayapa II Holy Spirit, Quezon City March 01, 2005 MY REPLY. Because of its length, the article forwarded by Reader Tababa will be included in the Reference Material section of this website, at a later date. wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hello Mr Abaya I agree with you on every point you made regarding the national ID card. You know the only people who scream the loudest about such concerns as invasion of privacy, violation of human rights, secrecy laws, Geneva Convention ad nauseam are those people who have plenty of reasons to be insecure, afraid, feel threatened or be paranoid. If one's character and integrity are virgin white, there are no worries. In Denmark, you cannot be TNT for long. You cannot be TNT period. If a Filipino has any plans of coming to this country with the pure intention of being illegal - it just cannot be done. You cannot work in this country without your personnummer. If you do work, you have to have a bank account where the salary is deposited. If you have no personnummer you cannot open a bank account. Of course you can get paid with cash by your employer but he will definitely have to pay a hefty fine if caught harboring an illegal with black job at that. He can also get a jail term of a few months. We cannot transfer house without informing our kommune (the municipio), we cannot transfer doctors without also informing the kommune because they are the ones who will make the changes in our health insurance card. The personnummer is our life. If we do not have that, we cannot have a life, plain and simple. Being a person with no malintent for my fellowmen, I welcome this number into my life like I welcome spring after the long Danish winter. This card does not only make the lives of the government simple, it also makes our lives extremely orderly. I use this card for everything - from borrowing books in the library to getting my subsidized medications in the apotek, to seeing my doctor for free. We use this number from cradle to grave, just as you mentioned. I do not understand how our lawmakers are always so cowed by the NPAs, the Abu Sayyaf, the Communists, the terrorists, the criminals, the income tax evaders and all the lowlifes when they shout "Foul!" They should just agree these guys are indeed "foul" and then they should get on with the work of finalizing this project. Goodness, how hard can getting an electronic ID in place be? Tina Peralta, [email protected] Denmark, March 02, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Well done! Couldn't have said it better. Count me in for a National ID card. OLIVIA CAPINPIN-PLATON, [email protected] Personal Assistant to the Acting Executive Chairman United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission on Iraq (UNMOVIC) ALCOA Building 866 United Nations Plaza, New York City, March 02, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |