MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the expedited distribution of national IDs under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) to enable Filipinos to use it by 2023.
This, after his meeting with National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan via teleconferencing on Wednesday.
“Sa ating pagpupulong kasama si NEDA Director-General Arsenio Balisacan, tinalakay kung paano mapapabilis ang pag-imprenta at distribusyon ng National ID cards upang magamit na ng ating mga kababayan simula sa unang bahagi ng 2023 (During our meeting with NEDA Director-General Arsenio Balisacan, we discussed how we could speed up the printing and distribution of National ID cards to allow our countrymen to use it on the first half of 2023),” Marcos said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in a Palace press briefing that the seamless implementation of PhilSys is important to ensure the country’s economic recovery amid the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Cruz-Angeles made the announcement, noting that PhilSys registrants would be granted access to banking and other financial services.
“Bahagi nga po iyan ng ating economic recovery. So, necessary kasi ‘yung national ID. Essential siya lalung-lalo na doon sa banking systems, sa pagtatayo ng maliliit na negosyo or kahit anumang negosyo. So sa credit system mahalaga rin po ‘yung national ID system (The national ID system is necessary because that is part of our economic recovery. It is essential, especially in terms of banking systems or establishment of any business, including small businesses. The national ID system is also important for credit system),” she said.
The Philippine Postal Corporation (Post Office) on Wednesday stated that more than 13.7 million PhilSys IDs have already been delivered across the country.
As of June 30, the figure is equivalent to 94 percent of the 14.5 million PhilSys IDs turned over for dispatch.
Postmaster General Normal Fulgencio said only six percent or 774,650 ID cards are being delivered by the Post Office in far-flung areas of the country.
Under Republic Act (RA) 11055 or the PhilSys Act, signed by former president Rodrigo Duterte in August 2018, the issuance of a national ID is mandated which will serve as a valid proof of identity for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens.
The national ID, which is given for free, will eventually replace all other government-issued IDs, except the passport, driver’s license, and UMID ID.
The PhilSys collates the Phil ID holder’s full name, sex, date and place of birth, blood type, and address. It will also indicate if a person is a Filipino or a resident alien.
The Phil ID also contains the holder’s front-facing photo, full set of fingerprints, and an iris scan.
The disclosure of one’s marital status, mobile number, and electronic mail address is optional.
The purpose of RA 11055 is to make government and private transactions easier and faster.
The law designates the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as the implementing body responsible for the general planning, management, and administration of PhilSys, the government’s central platform for all citizen and resident aliens of the Philippines.
The PSA collaborated with the state-run Land Bank of the Philippines in January of this year to help the national government’s agenda of financial inclusion by providing PhilSys registrants with their own transaction accounts.
