PSA: Over 60 million Filipinos complete PhilSys Step 2 registration

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday said over 60 million Filipinos have completed the second step registration for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).

As of March 16, some 60,483,095 Filipinos have been onboarded to the PhilSys Step 2 Registration, which involves capturing biometric information, such as fingerprints, iris, and front-facing photographs at registration centers.

PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, hopes that with the current adjustments made to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions, more Filipinos will be able to register to PhilSys.

“Despite the previous challenges posed by COVID-19 during the early implementation of the PhilSys program, the PSA achieved its targets successfully. We thank our partners and the millions of Filipinos for their cooperation despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic,” Mapa said.

"With their continued support, the PSA is confident that we will be able to register more Filipinos in the next months,” he added.

PSA said that registration centers nationwide continue to operate in compliance with the protocols of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and guidance from their respective local government units.

Registrants are still required to observe safety protocols such as physical distancing, wearing of face masks, and regular sanitation.

Meanwhile, Malacañang recently released a memorandum circular directing all government establishments to prepare for PhilSys integration into their processes and services.

Moreover, in a separate executive order, all government agencies and private establishments are mandated to accept the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card and PhilSys Number (PSN) as sufficient proof of identity and age for various transactions. — Mel Matthew Doctor/BM, GMA News