The National Statistics Office (NSO), one of the agencies that are part of the NEDA Task Force to map out an implementation strategy for the UMID, has also completed the development of an algorithm to generate the Common Reference Number, a unique set of digits assigned to individuals holding existing government ID cards.
Santos is expecting some 10,000 cards and CRNs to be generated during the pilot implementation.
Santos said that arrangements are now being made by the NEDA and the Spanish government for a grant assistance amounting to 500,000 Euros (34 million pesos), in anticipation of a successful implementation of the pilot project.
NEDA previously received 100,000 Euros (6.8 million pesos) was provided by the Spanish government to create a UMID steering committee composed of executives from the NSO, National Computer Center, Social Security System and Government Service Insurance System.
The steering committee also has as member the Fabrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre -- Real Casa de la Moneda, which was the Spanish government's Internet security arm where the 100,000 Euro grant was coursed through.
Santos also said the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, one of the proponents of the UMID, agreed to allocate 200 million pesos from the e-Government Fund as initial seed money for a full-blown implementation of the UMID system.
On the other hand, Santos said the NEDA Task Force is still awaiting a Supreme Court resolution on a petition filed by the civil rights groups Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and Bayan Muna against UMID.
The KMU and Bayan Muna have been lobbying against the UMID, which they described as an attempt by the government to monitor citizens' movements and is a threat to privacy.
UMID was formed when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Executive Order 420, which aims to unify existing government IDs and streamline the delivery of government services.
(1 dollar = 0.824 euro, 51.120 pesos)
Autor: Alexander Villafania
Quelle: INQ7.net, 22.03.2006
