MANILA— Senator Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Wednesday criticized the poor implementation of the National ID law, warning that it may deprive many poor and deserving commuters of free rides on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) this August.

Lacson, who co-authored and sponsored Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act, said that despite applying months—or even years—ago, many Filipinos have yet to receive their National IDs.

“This is good but unfair to poor and deserving commuters who will not be benefited by failure of government to provide the national IDs to them in spite of having applied months, even years ago,” Lacson said in a post on X.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday began offering free MRT-3 rides to commuters who can present their National IDs. The “Libreng Sakay” program is available from 9 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday in August.

According to the DOTr, commuters can avail of the free rides by showing printed, physical, or digital copies of their National IDs to security personnel at the station’s service gate.

Lacson earlier emphasized that the National ID system could have been instrumental in delivering efficient social services. However, he lamented its flawed rollout, saying the delays in ID issuance continue to affect millions of Filipinos.

He called on his fellow lawmakers to exercise their oversight functions and revisit the implementation of the law.