20 million sign up for Philippine national ID as registrations jump

SIMPLIFIED REGISTRATION: It takes less than 5 minutes to register for Philippine national ID system, including fingerprint and iris scanning, as shown here. There are three easy steps. PhilSys registration is open to all ages, even to newborn children or senior citizens who have blurry vision. For children below the age of five, only demographic information and front-facing photograph will be collected. Their PhilSys number will be linked to their parent or guardian. Their demographic data and complete biometric information will still be captured at the time of registration but they will have to update and have their biometrics taken once they reach the age of 15. For seniors, their registration number will be linked to an able-bodied relative who will provide the information.

STEPS. Step 1 simply means booking an online appointment for Step 2. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) commenced Step 1 registration process for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) on October 12, 2020, in the midst of COVID-restrictions. The system allows applicants to book an appointment with a designated registration centre by logging on to https://register.philsys.gov.ph.

NATIONWIDE: Step 1 registration is open nationwide via the official PhilSys registration website. On the date and time of your appointment, the PSA staff will check your reference number, retrieve your demographic information and verify the information collected during Step 1. PSA has reported a total of 4,159,269 registrants who had already completed the PhilSys Step 1 Registration via the site as of July 15, 2021.

STEP 2: On the date and time of your appointment, bring your appointment slip given during Step 1 and supporting documents to complete registration procedures for Step 2. Step 2 involves the verification of document, biometric-taking by PSA staff and issuance of a transaction certificate.

REGISTER AT SHOPPING MALLS: The PSA has also established national ID registration units in community shopping centres. Registrants should first complete their Step 1 Registration, secure an appointment before visiting their designated registration centre and bring a printout of their registration slip and supporting documents for Step 2.

STEP 3. The final step to PhilSys is the issuance of the PhilSys Number (PSN) and the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card in partnership with the Philippine Postal Corp (PHLPost). The ID (PhilSys Number and PhilID) will be delivered by PHLPost at a later time to your registered address. All applicants (or children's guardian) will be asked to verify the information before proceeding with the process. Registration is free. To curb health and safety risks during registration, there are health protocols that need to be adhered to.

PERMANENT ID NUMBER: The PhilSys Number (PSN) is a randomly generated number that will serve as a permanent identification number for the registrants, which must be kept private and confidential. To protect the permanent PSN when transacting, registrants are highly encouraged to use the PhilSys Card Number (PCN), the public version of the PSN which is printed in front of the PhilID.

SAFETY PROTOCOLS: To comply with health and safety protocols, “enumerators” and registration officers employed by the PSA have gone house-to-house and collect demographic information of select sample of low-income household heads from 32 priority provinces this year.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS: These are the supporting documents, according to the law that created PhilSys (Republic Act No. 11055 otherwise known as “Philippine Identification System Act”). On May 1, 2021 a surge in applicants overwhelmed the dedicated portal during the first day of general online registration for the national ID. Within a few days, more than 1 million (1,052,861) Filipinos have successfully registered through the online Step 1 Registration of PhilSys, PSA stated.

LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS FIRST: PSA said they aim to register low-income households first. There’s a reason for this strategy: this will help improve the targeting and distribution of government aid. President Duterte institutionalisesd the conditional cash transfer programme, known as "4Ps", via Republic Act 11310, which he signed on April 2019. This made 4Ps the government's primary poverty-reduction initiative. The law includes increased cash benefits to qualified recipient: Php700 ($14) conditional cash grant per senior high school student of the beneficiary family, in addition to Php500 ($10) per child in junior high school and Php300 ($6) per child for elementary level per month for the 10 months each year a child is in school.

235 REGISTRATION CENTRES: As of June 12, 2021, a total of 235 registration centres serve registrants. Everyone will eventually be registered under PhilSys. Provinces that belong to the bottom 40% percent of the population in terms of income were targeted from October last year. These 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.

20 MILLION MILESTONE: Digital fingerprinting forms part of biometrics-taking. With nearly province getting their oiwn PhilSys and National ID digital capture setup, registrations have been ramped up. On July 23, 2021, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) achieved a key milestone: more than 20 million registrants completed the Step 2 Registration of PhilSys. A total of 20.7 million Filipinos had their biometric information captured and demographic information verified at designated registration centers across the Asian country.

DATA: The number of registrations, achieved despite the pandemic restrictions, is about one-fifth of the estimated Philippine population of 110 million. “Data innovation is the key to a better nation”, according to Dennis Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General. The agency targets to register up to 70 million this year. “Reaching 20 million registrations for Step 2 this July means we are on track with our 2021 target of 50 to 70 million Filipinos registered for PhilSys.”

ENABLING LAW: The legislation creating the Philippine National ID System was passed in September 2017, and which Duterte signed into law on August 6, 2018. The law outlined universal identification document for the Philippines.

LINKED TO SIM CARDS: The national ID system can now be linked to mobile SIM card numbers, though there's yet no enabling law to mandate the linking. The move could help curb scams and security threats using mobile phones. For village-level registration, the Department of Interior and Local Government has urged the participation of “Barangays”, the lowest level of governance in the Philippine, to implement the PhilSys registration campaign.

SECURITY: Legislations mandating SIM card registrations had been stalled in the legislative mill. Though there's a rising clamour for its passage. Mobile phone scams and terror bomb blasts are not uncommon in the Philippines, thanks in part to the ease with which unregistered pre-paid mobile phone SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards can be bought and sold. The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is also pushing for mandatory SIM card registration  — already practised in most countries — to combat the increasing incidents of fake bookings through delivery apps.

SIM CARD REGISTRATION LAW: In the Philippines, cheap mobile phone SIM cards can be bought and sold without the need to register. This may end soon. Another legislation is being considered by Philippine lawmakers to mandate the registration of Subscriber Identity Module ( SIM) Cards, for both prepaid and post-paid SIM cards, which seeks to address the security and safety threat posed by the use of anonymous SIM cards to carry out crimes, scams and terrorist activities.

SAFETY IMPERATIVE: An announcement states the many uses of a national ID system. Legislators have said it is now “imperative” to regulate SIM card sales and distribution to improve tracing of unlawful activities. Similar measures had also been filed in the lower house of Congress — but its passage remains elusive due to data privacy concerns. In general, SIM registration has been largely effective in curbing crime, though some gangs have resorted to identity theft to carry out criminal activity.

SECURITY BOOST: Philippine officials said there are legal remedies prescribed by proposed legislation to curb abuses. A SIM registration regime, combined with the Philippine National ID system, now undergoing a rollout, could help significantly boost security in a country of more than 110 million inhabitants. One version of the bill mandates end-users of prepaid SIM cards to present a valid ID and photo and sign a control-numbered registration form. Copies of registration documents shall also be furnished to the service provider and the National Telecommunications Commission, the industry regulator.