<http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=042210e5ec3539c8> Sunday 20th February, 2005 Arroyo calls for ID cards, wiretaps Big News Network.com Sunday 20th February, 2005 (UPI) The president of the Philippines has said a national identification card and a system for wiretapping is necessary in the federal antiterrorism bill. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo believes the two components will make antiterrorism laws more effective, the Manila Times reported Saturday. Let's have that proposal go through the debate in Congress but it is important, she said. We are one of the few countries that still don't have an antiterrorism or internal security law. However, some lawmakers said the wiretapping could be used as a weapon to harass people personally or politically and the ID cards could allow the the government to compile a dossier against unsuspecting citizens. Last year's legislation to establish a National Reference Card at age 18 would have contained the name, address, blood type and next of kin of the bearer as well as a data strip containing a reference number and other confidential data. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'