A civic group has requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the possibility that national security is compromised through the digital platform being used by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

The LTO is using Dermalog’s system and Flag Maharlika director for Community Affairs Salvador Piamonte said there may be sovereignty and national security issues involved since the German firm’s online platform is being operated in Malaysia.

In a letter dated May 19 and addressed to NBI director Melvin Matibag, Piamonte cited as basis a resolution of the Office of the Ombudsman in 2022 which cited an internal LTO Management in stating that the IT form has “access and control over the 5-year Driver’s License Inventory and Printing Application Modules.”

Such arrangement, the group said, “was considered by the responsible technical officials of the LTO as a threat to national security” since it can lead to the printing of driver’s license outside the country that cannot be traced by the LTO.

“Our national identity system is compromised. Why are we allowing a foreign-based entity to hold the keys to the data and licenses of millions of Filipino drivers?,” the group said.

“This is a direct slap to our national sovereignty,” it added.

In the same letter, Flag Maharlika is urging NBI’s Cybercrime and Counter-Intelligence divisions to look into potential violations of Republic Act 1017, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, specifically Illegal Access and System Interference.

It also asked the agency to check if public officials’ administrative failures facilitated this under the Anti-Graft law (RA 3019).