March 15, 2019

The roll out of the National ID is on schedule with mass registration expected next year, the National Economic and Development Authority said following the approval of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Implementation Plan.

The Implementation Plan, which the PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council adopted late February, details the four phases of the project’s execution—from procurement of technology to issuing actual IDs.

“We are on-track as regards the roll-out of PhilSys. We hope to open up registration to targeted communities and release the first batch of IDs late this year. By 2020, we expect the registration system to be more established allowing for more Filipinos to avail of the service,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said.

Phase 1 (January to December 2019) of the Plan will involve procurement, testing of core technology infrastructure, organizational development of the PhilSys Registry Office (PRO), and launch of target registration;

Phase 2 (January to June 2020) will entail the development and full operationalization of core technology infrastructure, development of a mass registration ecosystem, use case development, and registration of pre-registered persons;

Phase 3 (July 2020 to June 2022) will undertake mass registration of 110,000,000 Filipinos and resident aliens, including OFWs; and

Phase 4 (July 2022 to December 2022) will involve issuing of PhilSys Numbers, or PSNs, to newborns.

National Statistician Lisa Grace S. Bersales said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), an attached agency of NEDA, has been undergoing workshops since January on strategic planning as well as procurement.

The PSA had already successfully created the PRO in November 2018, following the publication of the PhilSys Act Implementing Rules and Regulations in October 2018.

The PRO is the PSA office tasked to implement the PhilSys.

The PhilSys provides for a national identification system that seeks to unify all government IDs into one. It will provide identification to both citizens and resident aliens of the country to facilitate public and private transactions.

Pernia mentioned that despite the numerous IDs issued by the Philippine 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 by reducing the cost of transactions through easier authentication procedures. This way, the marginalized will have easier, faster access to public programs,” he added.

The PhilSys Act was signed into law last August 6, 2018, an historic accomplishment of the Legislative Agenda under Chapter 5 of the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, titled, Ensuring People-Centered, Clean, and Efficient Governance.

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