PSA to conduct pre-registration for national ID system

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will begin on Oct. 12 the pre-registration process for a foundational ID system, involving house-to-house collection of names, ages and other demographic information initially from five million heads of households in selected provinces.

The process will pave the way for actual registration on Nov. 25, which will involve collection of biometric information, PSA Assistant Secretary Rosalinda Bautista said in an interview with TeleRadyo.

She said the PSA is coordinating with local government units for the establishment of registration centers in key spots within cities and municipalities. PSA personnel will gather biometric information such as fingerprints and front-facing photographs at registration centers on appointed dates.  Registration procedures will be done in accordance with health protocols like physical distancing and wearing of face masks and face shields.

An ID system is aimed at facilitating government initiatives for delivering services, strengthening social protection and financial inclusion, and advancing the Philippines’ shift towards an inclusive digital economy.

A Philippine ID system or PhilSys will help low-income families open bank accounts, make them less vulnerable to informal and risky lending practices and allow faster distribution of future government subsidies.

To be prioritized in the pre-registration and registration processes are five million heads of low-income households identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Additional family members – one per household – will also be pre-registered, said Bautista.

“We will also schedule (for registration) one member of the family. So this will be close to four million. So all in all, we will pre-register around nine million this year,” she said.

By next year, 45 million Filipinos are targeted for registration into the system and another 42 million may be registered by 2022.

“By the end of the term of President Duterte, a majority of the Filipinos will be registered,” Bautista said.

At a briefing earlier this week, Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the pre-registration this month would initially cover 32 provinces with low number of active cases of COVID-19, to minimize the risk of transmission.

These are Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Albay, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Campostella Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental and Tawi-Tawi.