1M 4Ps beneficiaries eyed for registration in nat’l ID system

BAGUIO CITY -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday said the government sees completion of the registration of 1 million Filipinos for the Philippine Identification System Act (Philsys).

"We are targeting one million ‘Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program’ (4Ps) for the first three months of the year to be registered under the national ID system,” PSA Cordillera Regional Director Villafe Alibuyog said.

She said this would serve as a pilot testing to allow the government to see the possible challenges which may arise during the actual registration of the entire population.

It would also allow the government to make adjustments and immediately come up with solutions in the preparations prior to the mass registration.

She added the procurement of ID-making machines is now in the bidding process while actual registration has yet to start.

"From March to September this will be the procurement period of the equipment we will be needing for the implementation of the national ID System," she said.

Another five million more will be registered until December 2019 or a total of six million for the year. The focus will be those living in remote villages, minors, senior citizens, persons with disability and indigenous peoples.

Alibuyog said the Philsys is a five-year program of the national government with the PSA as the implementing agency.

"The plan started in 2018 and we are targeting to register 106 million individuals until 2023," she said.

Adding that by 2024, she said the registration and issuance of IDs will be focused on newborns.

With PhilSys now in effect, the PSA is conducting a nationwide information dissemination campaign.

Alibuyog said the national ID system will provide a valid proof of identity for all citizens and resident aliens as a means of simplifying public and private transactions. ID contents Demographic and biometric information of a person shall be collected upon registration. Demographic information is those visible on the ID. The biometric information is those encoded and stored in the smartchip that is embedded in the card. It can only be read and seen by agencies allowed to access them.

For children below five years old, only the demographic information and front-facing photograph will be collected like the name, address, gender, birthday, blood type, address.

The ID’s face will also include the unique digital number which is a lifetime identity of a person. It is non-transferable and unique to the person holding it.

For the others, the biometric information will be obtained and stored on the chip like the fingerprint, iris scan and front facing photograph.

Alibuyog said the National ID System Act was passed to promote a seamless government service delivery, for ease of doing business, efficient governance, and financial inclusion while reducing corruption.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law the Philippine Identification System Act in Aug. 6, 2018 which seeks to integrate the various government IDs of all citizens and foreign residents in the country.