National ID System Revived

It appears that Malacanang had ran out of ideas for new projects so it revived once again the concept of National ID System. It should be noted that in 1998, the Supreme Court held unconstitutional the Fidel Ramos National ID System and declared that only a law emanating from the congress can make the proposed idea working. Pero parang sirang plaka, "paulit-ulit" ang Malacanang kaya't "heto na naman, heto na naman".

Anyway, why push the national ID system?

The revival of the idea came from the Armed Forces of the Philippines which is "determined to quash insurgency and terrorism" (kuno) in the country. Kaso, with the alleged partisan nature of the supposedly apolitical AFP, medyo nakakatakot naman ang proposition. Bakit kamo? Let us count the ways:

1. On political rights: the qualified voters might be tagged for their partisan inclinations. This being the case, madali na ngayong i-pressure ang mga ito para lumipat sa pro-admin na kandidato. Remember the peasants in Negros whose fingers were tainted with indelible ink upon knowing their choices of candidates? And remember the Hello Garci where the "magic hand" already knows where to tinker and manipulate the election returns? Aminin: malapit na ang election. And Gloria in the Palace is even pushing for a Cha-cha so bak magka-plebiscite in the immediate future. Besides, the 2010 election will be crucial for GMA considering that the winning candidate will be a prime determinant on the success of the cases awaiting her for mal-administering the country and for abusing her power.
2. On human rights: Siyempre, madali na ngayong i-tag ang mga undesirables as communists or terrorists. Ngayon nga na wala pang synchronized ID system todas na ang ilang mga suspected leftists, lalo na, to quote Aiza Seguerra, "pagdating ng panahon".
3. On the freedom of the press: As tagging undesirables will be easy, so will be the journalists and mediamen. To note, number 2 pa rin ang Pilipinas bilang "most dangerous country for journalists" sa buong mundo.
   
4. On the right to privacy: Teka, di ba enshrined sa constitution ang right to privacy? Ba't mukhang gustong i-tinker ng AFP? Besides, how infallible will the program be? In the very first place, the Filipinos are not even protected by the IT laws so how sure are the we na hindi mapaglalaruan ang mga datos ng mga tao? Has anybody remember or have seen the 1995 movie The Net starred by Sandra Bullock? How sure are the Filipinos na di ganun ang mangyayari? Second, ang Cyber Ed Project nga palpak na, how much more the crucial National ID System project?

If the primary purpose of the AFP to eradicate terrorism and insurgency, baka puwedeng tingnan muna nila ang institusyon nila. Has AFP answered the accusations of Trillanes and the Magdalo on corruption in the military? Has the AFP cleared its name in the "Hello, Garci!" controversy? Has AFP cleared its name in the report of Alston to the United Nations about the political killings and human rights abuse?

If so, the next step is to push for the poverty-free Philippines. Pag kumakalam kasi ang sikmura, mas madaling tumanggap ng ideya. A very good indicator is the feast of the Black Nazarene. Because the people feel poor, the more they seek a god. Similarly, because of poverty, people are prone to accept terroristic ideas.

Lastly, the AFP should remain apolitical and stand by the Constitution, not the leader. In the very first place, the leader (i.e., the Commander-in-Chief) is not the Constitution.

Teka, kaya kaya ito ng AFP? Forward, March!