Over 60 million nat'l IDs, ePhilIDs printed as of March 15, 2023 —PSA

More than 60 million physical and virtual national identification cards (IDs) have been printed by the Philippine Statistics  Authority (PSA) as of March 15, 2023.

In a statement issued Monday, the agency said it had printed a total of 60,326,990 Philippine Identification System (PhilIDs) and ePhilIDs for the implementation of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).

Of the figures, 3,550,575 were dispatched for delivery while 26,776,415 are ePhilIDs printed at registration centers.

“Reaching 60 million national IDs printed brings us closer to fully realizing the envisioned benefits of PhilSys of making more services accessible,” said PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician, and Civil Registrar General.

“That’s why our coordination with government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development centers on using PhilSys to support the implementation of social protection programs. Gusto namin na ngayon pa lang, maunawaan na ng ating mga beneficiaries ang kahalagahan ng PhilSys sa pagiging mas accessible ng iba't-ibang serbisyo ng ating pamahalaan,” he added.

(We want the beneficiaries to realize the importance of PhilSys in making social services accessible to the public.)

Mapa said the PSA is continuously coordinating with the Philippine Postal Corporation and their field offices to ensure faster delivery of the IDs.

Likewise, the agency is also implementing the downloading of password-protected ePhilIDs via mobile devices, which registered persons may access once they receive an SMS notification from PSA.

Both the PhilID and ePhilID bear a QR code that can be used for easier identity verification and authentication, as opposed to more traditional methods involving handwritten signatures which can be easily forged.

“Verifying a registered person’s identity is as easy as scanning the QR code of the PhilID or ePhilID through our identity authentication tool, PhilSys Check,” Usec. Mapa added.

“We encourage registered persons to use their smart device or computer to access PhilSys Check to verify their PhilID or ePhilID.” —VAL, GMA Integrated News