The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) lambasted the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for its draft memo titled Implementation of the Local Identification System. According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of KMP, “this is the reason for the all the cloak and dagger approach of Malacanang in its Executive Order 420, they also are incorporating this memo to the EO. This memo is basically a tracking system for all inhabitants of this country, it is a definite infringement of ones freedom of mobility and right to abode,”

“For example, on the information sheet that all inhabitants of the country should fill out, the information they need are as follows: Name, present address, previous address, place of birth, date of birth, sex, civil, status, citizenship, occupation, parents/guardian, name of father, place of birth, name of mother, place of birth, name of guardian and worse it is also open for such items of information as may be prescribed by the law or ordinances. These pieces of information are definitely very sensitive and can be used to harass or monitor any or every individual at the government’s say so,” added the peasant leader.
“It is like putting the whole country and its inhabitants under surveillance. This is patently worse than the zoning done during Marcos’ time,” said Ramos.

As for his part Carl Anthony Ala, public information officer of the group, “it is also not true that the budget requirement for this has no problem, in fact it will charge a minimum of fifteen pesos (P15) for anyone who would register. This will also entail a lot of room for a violation of ones rights because section 6 of the proposed ordinance of the memo states that “all local government offices and law enforcement agencies such as Philippine National Police shall require the presentation of the Barangay I.D. to establish the identity of a person,”

“This is really very alarming especially for peasants and indigenous people in the hinterlands they can be arrested or worse even killed if they do not have the ID, on the charge that they may be NPA members. In essence what Malacanang and the DILG are doing is turning the Philippines into a garrison state and this must be stopped,” ended Ala. # # #
 

KMP - 24 april 2005