NEDA, PSA fast-tracking national ID rollout, targets 5M registrants by end of 2020

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and its attached agency the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) are fast-tracking the rollout of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), targeting to register at least five million individuals by the end of 2020.

During the televised Pre-SONA forum on Wednesday, NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the PSA is already in the process of procuring the ABIS (automated biometric information system) of the PhilSys or national ID program.

“Sa ngayon po talagang pina-fastrack ang implementation ng national ID,” Edillon said.

“The PSA is being assited by the DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) para mapabilis ang pag-evaluate ng mga bids na ito,” she said, referring to the bids for the ABIS.

The 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.

The PSA earlier targeted mass registration for the program in mid-2020, but its implementation was stalled by the COVID-19 crisis. 

President Rodrigo Duterte blamed the absence of a national ID system for the discrepancies in the distribution of the financial aid under the national government’s Social Amelioration Program.

Duterte then tasked NEDA Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua to speed up the rollout of the national ID system. 

“Fighting target ng PSA, nakatutok dito si Sec. Karl [Chua], na by the end of the year we have registered five million individuals. Representing five million households ito,” Edillon said.

The NEDA official said registering at least five million persons, representing their respective households, will help in the distribution of the government’s assistance programs.

Duterte signed the Philippine Identification System Act in 2018.

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. —KG, GMA News