On my first visit to Tainan many years ago, there was an “honorary” Tainan ID card you could by at one of the tourist sites - just a simple commemorative souvenir.
But for me, I instantly recognized it would be acceptable “government photo ID” that I could use in the Philippines, where you often are asked to sign in and submit an ID when you visit an office building or gated community.
Another example that is probably even worse: getting a cedula.
This is a Philippine document that seems to verify that you exist. At least, I don’t know what else this literal slip of paper is for (EDIT: it’s a tax receipt but is some how used as ID). Maybe it has changed into something more useful, but when I have needed it as proof of identity when signing contracts or legal agreements, it doesn’t have a photo or (maybe) an address. And it seemed you could easily get one whenever you needed it - which didn’t make sense to me ( come to think of it, it sounds like the way I have accumulated so many name chops here)
Any idea what this is all about? I am both baffled and amused by the Filipino obsession with bits of paper that have to be filled in with mostly-irrelevant information, and that serve no obvious useful purpose. Is it another of the dubious legacies left by the Spanish?
My personal opinion is that these byzantine paper-pushing systems are set up (where money is involved) specifically to facilitate fraud. If there’s a blizzard of paper for every trivial transaction, then tracking down the occasional instance of skimming is rendered impossible.
Where the issue is “identification”, something similar applies: the door is deliberately left open for people to commit identity fraud because, where a great deal of economic activity relies on fraudulent transactions, it’s important for a sufficient supply of ill-gotten gains to enter the system somehow so that they can be fenced, laundered, and ultimately delivered into the hands of the oligarchy.
That, plus the opportunities for nickel-and-diming people (and the accompanying make-work) when countless signatures are required from barangay nobodies, “engineers”, notaries, city officials, etc etc etc.
The bit of paper in your post is a classic example. 45 pesos collected. 4500 pesos spent on the salaries of government employees to deal with the associated admin.
come to think of it, it sounds like the way I have accumulated so many name chops here)
