House members urge Filipinos to support PhilSys amid pilot registration
MANILA, Philippines — A total of 61 ranking members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday participated in the Philippine Statistic Authority's pilot registration for the Philippine Identification System stipulated in Republic Act 11055.
The PSA, which is listed in the bill as its primary implementing agency, began its pilot registration run on Monday, November 25. The initial registration only includes House members, congressional staff and employees.
Lawmakers who registered with the PSA urged Filipinos to register during the scheduled July 2020 nationwide registration for the system, according to a press release published on the House of Representatives website.
Rep. Estrellita Suansing (1st District, Nueva Ecija), who co-authored the PhilSys Act, said that the system could benefit many Filipinos.
“[V]ery important ito because the advantage is isa na lang ang ID. Hindi na yung marami kang itatago and marami kang a-applyan. 'Di rin tulad ng ibang IDs na may validity,” she said.
A separate statement on the PSA website said that the pilot registration's purpose was to test the efficacy of the registration process as well as the functionality of the overall system.
For his part, Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona (Lone District, Romblon) highlighted the convenience that came with a single official ID.
“I think everybody should get that because once you have that ID, it’s an all-in ID already," he said.
"Unlike now, you have to present normally at least two or three. That single ID will already confirm your identification."
RA 1105 or the Philippine Identification System Act seeks the creation of the Phil-ID, a single official identification card as part of the the government’s central identification platform, PhilSys. The law also consolidates around 33 government IDs into one integrated system "as a means of simplifying public and private transactions."
The act was approved by Malacañang on Aug. 6, 2018.
Yet, the rolling out of the new PhilSys has been rather rocky. On November 20 of this year, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto disclosed that the Duterte administration did not provide funds for it despite listing the project as "high-priority."
“[I]t now appears that there’s a wide gap between intent and implementation. The proof has always been in the funding. And in the case of the national ID project, it is wanting,” he explained.
The pilot registration will run until Dec. 5, 2019. The PSA said they intended to enroll all Filipinos and resident aliens under the PhilSys on or before the end of 2022.
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