Pre-registration for nat'l ID may happen mid-October —NEDA chief

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) plans to hold a pre-registration for the national identification system in October, its chief  Karl Chua told senators on Wednesday.

During a budget hearing, Chua said the government initially projected to register at least five million Filipinos this year but the COVID-19 pandemic made it quite challenging to achieve.

"Our backup plan right now is by the middle of October we will begin pre-registration wherein officials of the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) will be visiting the targeted poor households and begin collecting the non-biometric information like the name, address and so on," Chua said.

"Para when we begin the registration end of the year, it will be easier nalang. They just show up quickly for identity validation and put the biometrics," he added.

Under the proposed 2021 budget, P4.1 billion was earmarked

Physical IDs may be out by November or December this year, Chua said, noting that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was tasked to procure these.

"The most important po is the foundational ID number, the physical ID eventually, I think, will have to evolve. But initially, by law, we will provide the physical ID," he added.

For next year, NEDA targets to register around 40 million Filipinos in the system, according to Chua.

He said those below five years old will not be registered yet because their biometrics would still change. Newborns will only be given identification numbers.

The multi-year project which started in 2018 has a total cost of P30 billion, according to the NEDA chief.—LDF, GMA News