Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday proposed the idea of having every Filipino own only one bank account to ensure the efficient and prompt distribution of government financial assistance programs.
Gatchalian said that, with the approval of the Philippine Identification System Act or Republic Act 11055 that created a national ID system, the idea of having a single bank account for each Filipino would be warranted.
The senator said he was mulling filing a bill called “One Filipino, One Bank Account” for this purpose.
Under this proposal, Gatchalian said the government would be mandated to provide all Filipinos living in the country with one bank account each.
“Importante na gumamit na tayo ng teknolohiya (It’s very important that we utilize technology),” Gatchalian said in a statement.
“Kapag ganitong may pandemya, remit na lang nang remit sa bank account at doon tatanggap ng ayuda. Bahala ka na kung paano mo gagamitin ang ayuda na ‘yun (When we have this kind of pandemic, one can just remit money in his bank account and receive cash assistance through that as well. It’s up to you how you wish to use that cash),” said, the vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies.
He said owning a bank account should now be considered a basic requirement among Filipinos, regardless of the individual’s socio-economic class.
He also pointed out that with over 74 million Filipinos already using smartphones as of 2019, contactless and/or cashless payments can be made possible through the use of their mobile phone units as digital wallets.
With the use of software applications, Gatchalian said payments can be made safely through digital scans or card readers.
“(Because) even the people dispensing the cash might get infected with COVID-19. Who will then dispense the money?” he pointed out.
According to the senator, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2019 showed that 51.2 Filipino adults or 71 percent of the total adult population remain “unbanked.”
Based on the survey, the lack of sufficient money was the primary reason some of these individuals did not own a bank account. Others perceived that there was a lack of need for a bank account, while others could not comply with documentary requirements to open an account.
Latest records from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), on the other hand, show that 82 percent of the 10.5 million initial registrants to the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), or the national ID system, indicated that they do not have bank accounts.