20 million register for national ID system

MANILA, Philippines — More than 20 million Filipinos have pre-registered for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) and the government is eyeing to reach 70 million citizens.

Project implementer Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) yesterday said a total of 20.133 million Filipinos completed the first step of registration for the national ID system.

This involves the house-to-house collection of demographic information of low-income households and appointment setting for the second step.

The PSA started the pre-registration in October in 32 provinces considered low-risk areas for COVID-19.

Statistician Dennis Mapa said the PSA is targeting to register 70 million Filipinos by yearend.

Target registrants include vulnerable groups identified by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases such as health workers, senior citizens, indigents and uniformed personnel.

Mapa said operations for the second step continue to roll out on a gradual, small-scale basis in all 32 provinces.

This involves validation of supporting documents and capture of biometric information such as fingerprints and iris scans in registration centers.

The third and final step involves the issuance of the PhilSys number and ID.