i thought mine was an isolated case, apparently it's not

EDITORIAL – Substandard

Monday, September 8, 2008

People started noticing a few months ago that their photos and the fine print on their driver’s licenses were fading. Some licenses were newly issued; others were set to expire, which indicated that production of the substandard cards must have started as far back as three years ago. Who is responsible for compromising the integrity of those cards?

Like the passport, a driver’s license is one of the basic identification cards whose integrity must be guaranteed by the state. The driver’s license must be as tamper-proof as the latest technology will allow, which is what the current batch of cards is supposed to be. Instead more and more motorists are reporting that their licenses are fading. Owners of the cards can find themselves in trouble if they are suspected of holding fake or tampered licenses.

Worried about the consequences, transport groups are urging the government to do something about the problem. What, exactly? The best that transport groups can expect is a recall and replacement of fading driver’s licenses, free of charge.

Will anyone be called to account for the substandard cards? The contractor may not even be identified, although there might be an announcement that its services will no longer be needed in the future. Will any transportation official get even a slap on the wrist? If the head of the Department of Transportation and Communications, one of the most durable officials in this administration, was not replaced over the anomalous national broadband network deal with ZTE Corp., he will not get even a minor scolding for the issuance of substandard driver’s licenses.

At worst, there won’t even be a recall of fading licenses, and the contractor of the cards will not lose its deal with the government. This story was reported several weeks ago but so far no action has been taken. The government will likely just wait for the story to die down and fade away, as quickly as the images and fine print on the cards are fading. - Philstar