Gov't hits target 50 million national ID registrations

The government has reached its goal of 50 million registration for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) or national ID this year despite the mobility restrictions due to the COVID-19 crisis.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said 50,014,382 Filipinos completed their PhilSys Step 2 registration as of December 11, 2021.

The Step 2 registration involves validating supporting documents and collecting biometric information such as iris scans, fingerprints, and front-facing photographs. It began in January 2021 in 32 priority provinces that were considered low-risk areas for COVID-19.

Despite the pandemic, the PSA said it was able to expand its operations to more cities and municipalities nationwide.

As for the Step 1, it involves the registration onsite or via register.philsys.gov.ph  by filling out the online application form containing personal information such as full name, address, date of birth, among others.

As part of the PhilSys Step 1 Registration, PhilSys registration team conducted house-to-house collection of the registrants’ demographic information amid the extended quarantine protocols, according to the PSA.

The Step 3 is the distribution of PhilSys ID cards to those who completed the Step 2 registration.

“The PSA salutes all those who contributed to this milestone for the PhilSys Step 2 Registration,” said PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.

“Notwithstanding the pandemic and the restrictions that came with it, the PSA—together with its field offices, partner agencies, and key stakeholders—worked relentlessly to ensure that more Filipinos can begin registering for their PhilIDs,” Mapa said.

The three-step PhilSys registration process began in October 2020, according to the PSA.

Meanwhile, for Step 3 Registration, the PSA said is continuously working to speed up the issuance of the PhilSys Number (PSN) and the delivery of Philippine Identification (PhilID) cards to registrants together with its partner agencies: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for the card production, and the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) for door-to- door delivery.

As of December 10, 2021, a total of 4,414,393 Filipinos have already received their PhilID cards.

These cards will soon have a digital version through the soon-to-be-launched PhilSys mobile app, the PSA said.

It added that registrants can already use this alternative while waiting for their actual PhilIDs.

Meanwhile, in partnership with the PSA, the Land Bank of the Philippines has also processed 6,786,939 bank account applications through a colocation strategy in PhilSys registration centers. 

The said milestone will help promote financial inclusion, improve targeting of beneficiaries, and accelerate the delivery of government social protection programs for all Filipinos, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua.

"The pandemic emphasized the urgency of providing every Filipino with a unique and digitalized ID. This is why we accelerated the roll-out of the PhilSys. We congratulate and thank the PSA, our government and development partners, private sector stakeholders, and registration officers for making this huge accomplishment possible,” Chua said.

“The PhilSys will enhance service delivery of both the public and private sector and give every Filipino, especially the poor, access to much-needed social and financial services. We encourage everyone to register and take part in this game-changing reform,” he said. —KG, GMA News