By May Anne Love Deseo
DAVAO CITY— The Philippine Post Office said it will launch an upgraded premium postal identification card that can be used in applying for passport.
Marketing Specialist III of the city’s Central Post Office Elmer Obelidhon said that by May this year, they will release the new ID that has an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) feature which is designed to search fingerprints retrieved from a data base in Manila.
The AFIS will prevent persons from using two IDs or using fake IDs, the PhilPost said.
The other security feature of the new ID includes Ultra-Violet (UV) ink postal logo which can only be seen with a UV lamp, ghost image, hologram, and guilloche.
He added that the barcode or the QR (quick response) code can now be scanned with an application which can be downloaded at the PhilPost website.
“Once you have downloaded it on your cellphone, you can check the particulars of the owner of the scanned ID. If it doesn’t show, then it is a fake,” Obelidhon said.
One advantage of the premium ID is that when it is renewed, applicants no longer need to present their requirements again.
“Unlike before, if your postal ID expires, you would have to bring your birth certificate and any proof of identity. It won’t be like that with the premium. You just have to bring your old premium postal ID, fill up two forms, then you will be issued with a new ID,” Obelidhon said.
He said that training will be conducted among post masters, post tellers and other employees on how to identify documents if they are genuine or not.
Postal Area Director Bernardito Gonzales in a press conference, Wednesday, April 20 said that the new postal ID will not only be used domestically, but can be used abroad as well.(davaotoday.com)
