National ID rollout starts in April 2020

The government will start distributing the unique and non-transferrable identification cards to Filipino citizens and resident aliens in April next year as part of the rollout of the national ID system.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a roundtable discussion during the World Bank – International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington that the implementation of Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act would particularly provide unbanked Filipinos a proof of identity.

“The card issuance will start in April 2020,” he said.

Despite the numerous IDs issued by the Philippine government, 14 percent of Filipinos are denied government and financial services for lack of proper identification documents.

A physical national ID or Philippine ID will be issued to each individual who registers with the system. Each person will also get a randomly generated, unique and permanent ID number or Common Reference Number. With the Philippine ID, Diokno said unbanked Filipinos would have a proof of identity that is a key requirement in opening a bank account.

“It will be easier for unbanked Filipinos to open bank accounts and avail of financial services—a win for our financial inclusion agenda. This will enable more of our marginalized countrymen to enjoy gains from and participate more actively in the country’s growing economy,” he added.

Last Oct. 7, the BSP inked a memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) marking the start of the rollout of the national ID system.

Under the agreement, the BSP would produce 116 million pieces of blank cards for the Phil ID for three years to be issued to all Philippine citizens or resident aliens registered under the PhilSys.

“As such, the central bank of the Philippines is glad to take part in this gamechanging reform as we join the other countries in providing a foundational

platform for the delivery of services. The central bank of the Philippines, as the national security printer for the Philippine currency, has the capability and integrity to produce high quality and secured materials,” Diokno said.

The total contract price of the agreement is P3.4 billion or roughly P30 per national ID card. The card would be distributed for free.

The BSP chief added the central bank would provide the needed equipment and space for the embedding of personal information onto the blank cards to be done by the PSA.

The roles of the PSA include managing the PhilSys database, ensuring the availability, confidentiality, integrity, accuracy, and readiness of the data that will be placed in BSP-produced blank cards, and undertaking the personalization, quality checking and distribution of the PhilIDs.