November 29 ------ The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday that nearly six million Filipinos have already completed the first step for the registration of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) or national ID. In a statement, the PSA said 5,788,615 individuals have completed the Step 1 of the PhilSys registration, which includes the house-to-house collection of the demographic information of low-income household heads in the 32 priority provinces for 2020.
The select provinces include 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, Davao De Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Leyte, and Tawi-tawi. The nearly six million already enrolled in the Step 1 of PhilSys brings total registrations to 58.7% of the PSA’s nine million target to complete the first step by the end of the year.
The PSA also reported that 89% of registrants so far have signified that they currently do not have bank accounts. According to the PSA, this emphasizes the importance of ensuring the rollout of the country’s national ID program, as one of the main hindrances to financial inclusion is the lack of formal identification. “PhilSys will allow more Filipinos access to basic banking services and make them less vulnerable to informal lending practices that charge onerous interest rates. Formal identification will also help Filipinos access government and financial services,” it said.
The PSA is set to begin Step 2 of PhilSys registration, which will involve the capture of biometric information, such as fingerprints and iris scans and a front-facing photograph at registration centers, once the required systems are fully functional and secure. Among the major preparatory activities for Step 2 is the deployment of more than 4,000 registration kits to the target provinces. The Step 3 will involve the issuance of the PhilSys Number (PSN) and the physical ID (PhilID).
“We partnered with the Department of National Defense to transport our registration kits to the 32 provinces, but due to the recent typhoons and the resulting relief efforts, we are encountering minor delays. We ask for the public’s understanding of the situation as the delivery of assistance to those affected by the typhoon is of utmost importance. We have notified, via text message, the registrants who were set to undergo Step 2 registration from November 25 to 30 about the change in schedule,” said Assistant Secretary Rosalinda Bautista, Deputy National Statistician of the PhilSys Registry Office (PRO).
“Barangay officials in registration areas were requested to inform their constituents. Personnel from the Provincial Statistics Offices were also instructed to man the registration centers to inform registrants of developments, in case there are still some that will arrive at the registration sites,” Bautista said. The nationwide registration for PhilSys is targeted in January 2021 after the priority or first nine million low-income household heads have completed their registration in the system.
Source: gmanetwork.com