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PSA: Mass enrollment for national ID system to start in mid-2020


The government is on track to have the national identification system in full swing operationally by the middle of next year, following the pilot run this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Monday.

“We are on track to have the system fully operational and to start the mass registration by mid-2020, and complete the enrollment of the population by mid-2022,” Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, national statistician and civil registrar, said Monday.

The Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) seeks to harmonize, integrate, and interconnect redundant government IDs by establishing a national identification system.

The national ID will contain the PhilSys number, full name, facial image, sex, date of birth, blood type, and address of the concerned individual.

Last week, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the government targets some 10,000 for the pilot test which will run from September to December this year.

“The PSA sees the utmost importance for the PhilSys to first undergo a series of pilot testing before finally launching it to the public,” Mapa said.

“We want to ensure that the processes are efficient, the systems are fully functional, and all information within the system is secure.”

The pilot involves biometric and demographic capturing processes, and once the system is stable, operations will be expanded to cover select groups from nearby regions.

“Given that the PhilSys is a highly technical and complex program, we are pushing with multiple pilot testing to continuously improve the system and level up its security features before launching it to the public,” Mapa noted.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said the central bank has already volunteered to print the national ID.

The central bank has pushed for the passage of the proposed national identification system for more unbanked individuals to be able to open bank accounts.

The left-leaning Makabayan bloc, however, raised concerns against the measure, saying the data may be used against opponents of the government and to deprive others who do not have the ID of basic social services. —Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News

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