Gov’t to start rollout of national IDs this year

The government plans to start issuing national IDs to priority sectors later this year, ahead of the full implementation of the system by 2022, state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said Friday.

“We hope to open up registration to targeted communities and release the first batch of IDs late this year,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and Neda chief Ernesto M. Pernia said in a statement, referring to the Philippine Identification System.

According to earlier reports, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will begin rolling out PhilSys in September to cover six million individuals initially.

Beneficiaries of the government’s conditional and unconditional cash transfer program, senior citizens and persons with disabilities will be prioritized in the implementation of PhilSys, Neda officials said after Republic Act No. 11055 or the PhilSys Act was signed into law last year.

Those who have no government IDs yet will be enjoined to enlist in the system first, PSA chief and National Statistician Lisa Grace S. Bersales had said.

“By 2020, we expect the registration system to be more established allowing for more Filipinos to tap the service,” Pernia said.

Under the first phase of the PhilSys implementation plan approved by the PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council last month, the government will procure and test core technology infrastructure, develop the PhilSys Registry Office’s (PRO) organization, and launch target registration this year. PRO will lead the implementation of PhilSys.

The next phase, to be implemented from January to June next year, will involve the development and full operations of core technology infrastructure, development of a mass registration ecosystem and registration of preregistered persons, Neda said.

From July next year to June 2022, the government will register 110 million Filipinos, including those living and working abroad, and resident aliens.

Between July and December 2022, newborns will also be issued PhilSys numbers.

“Despite the numerous IDs issued by the government, 14 percent of Filipinos are still denied of government and financial services due to lack of proper identification documents. Having one national ID will strengthen financial inclusion,” Pernia said. —BEN O. DE VERA