The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has instructed all its offices nationwide to accept the paper-printed version of the Philippine Identification (PhilID) for all transactions, especially in the application for motor vehicle registration and driver's license.
In a memorandum, LTO chief Jose Arturo Tugade said the PhilID, or the national ID, is enough proof of identity and must be accepted also for application for student license and conductor's license.
Tugade issued the memorandum after receiving reports that some LTO offices are not accepting it as a proof of identity, particularly the paper-printed one.
Since its implementation, the national ID system has been the subject of criticisms for very slow printing of the card. Some netizens complained that they have not received the card more than a year after registering.
Recently, the national government instead printed the paper version of the national ID for temporary use.
Tugade said the printed ePhilID “has the same effect as the card as stipulated in the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Advisory dated Sept. 30 this year.
“The PhilID serves as a vital part of a single, national identification system so people won’t be burdened anymore with presenting so many ID cards when doing transactions with either private or government institutions. Thus, it is already a sufficient proof of identity so there’s no need to ask for any other ID cards,” said Tugade.
He warned that any LTO official or personnel who will not accept the PhilID Card and the printed ePhilID shall be penalized based on the provisions of Section 19 of Republic Act 11055, or the “Philippine Identification System Act.”
Penalty for any person or entity under RA 11055 who will refuse to “accept, acknowledge and recognize the PhilID Card as the only official identification of the holder/possessor” without just and sufficient cause shall be a fine of P500,000.
Likewise, any government official or employee who will commit the same violation shall suffer the penalty of “perpetual absolute disqualification from holding any public office or employment in the government, including any GOCCs (government-owned and controlled corporations) and their subsidiaries.”