DBM releases P420 million for national ID workers

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released some P420 million to cover the wage payment of workers involved in the national ID system.

Budget chief Amenah Pangandaman recently approved a notice of cash allocation (NCA) worth P419.69 million to the Philippine Statistics Authority under the National Economic and Development Authority.

The fund will cover the payment of first quarter wages for the registration officers hired as contract of service workers in relation to the implementation of the national ID.

Pangandaman said the DBM is giving importance to the timely release of salaries of government personnel.

Additionally, the DBM also released the first quarter cash allocation requirement of the PSA in line with its monthly disbursement program submission.

The budget chief maintained that DBM is supporting the implementation of the national ID system as this will accelerate the country’s transition to a digital economy.

“This will promote a more convenient, inclusive and accessible delivery of services, and bring technological transformation in the country,” Pangandaman said.

Latest data showed that the PSA has printed 60.33 million national IDs, 26.78 of which are the digital versions or those printed at registration centers.

To ensure that more registered persons receive their national ID, the PSA continues to push the Philippine Postal Corp. to speed up the delivery of dispatched IDs.

PSA field offices are also called to proactively distribute printed digital IDs through plaza-type and house-to-house distribution.

Likewise, the PSA is implementing the downloading of password-protected digital IDs via mobile devices, which registered persons may access once they receive a text message notification from PSA.

Both the physical and digital IDs have a QR code that can be used for easier identity verification and authentication.