PSA lauds PBBM’S call to collaborate with private sector for Natl ID system

THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) welcomed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to tap the private sector in the digitalization of the National ID system for seamless transactions across government agencies and private entities.

“Given the 75.8 million Filipinos who have already registered to Philsys, we are eager to collaborate with the private sector to further accelerate our progress in expanding our use cases. We want our registrants to immediately reap and enjoy the benefits of Philsys, as a digital ID system,” PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, said in a news statement issued on Thursday.

As of 13 January 2023, almost 29 million Philid cards were printed and more than 15.7 million ephilids were issued.

As part of the PSA’S efforts to fast-track the issuance of ephilids, the agency initiated a house-to-house distribution strategy and pilot implemented a website allowing registered persons to download a PDF copy of their ephilid on their mobile devices.

“Philsys is a foundational, digital ID system, so its functionality is geared towards digital use—whether as a card, printed on paper, or PDF file. This ensures an inclusive national ID system that can be used across government agencies and private entities for more efficient delivery of services for Filipinos. This is a move closer to realizing the vision of a Makabagong Pilipinas,” said Mapa.

Part of the Philsys-enabled services PSA intends to offer is the electronic Know Your Customer (E-KYC) where registered individuals may consent to share their data from the Philsys Registry to the relying party (e.g., government agencies with frontline services, banks, remittance centers, and others) after a successful authentication for faster and more secure transactions.