March 29, 2024

The Philippine Statistics Authority Cordillera expects to register more than 279,000 residents for the national identification system (PhilSys).
A total of 279,720 registrants – 37,800 in Abra; 18,900 in Apayao; 128,520 in Benguet including Baguio City; 34,020 in Ifugao; 34,020 in Kalinga; and 26,460 in Mountain Province are expected to be listed.
Step 1 of the registration in the Cordillera started on Jan. 18 until March 31. This involves obtaining the basic demographic data of an individual like full name, sex, date and place of birth, blood type, permanent and present address, nationality, marital status (optional), mobile phone number (optional), and email address (optional) by enumerators of the PSA.
An individual will also be asked to present supporting documents such as PSA-issued copy of birth certificate or primary identification documents such as government-issued IDs or passport as proof of identity of the person whose data is obtained for the national ID.
An appointment slip for step 2 will be issued by the enumerators to the individual after the registration.
For step 2, the person will proceed to the registration center on the date and time given where iris scan, fingerprints, and front-facing images of a person will be taken.
Step 3 is the issuance of the ID.
The national ID aims to provide a single national identification system for all citizens and resident aliens in the country as valid proof of identity.
“The PhilSys is expected to simplify public and private transactions; promote ease of doing business; enhance integrity of services by eliminating identity fraud; enhance transparency in governance thereby reducing corruption; streamline delivery of social services especially for the vulnerable groups of the population; and strengthen financial inclusion for both public and private services,” PSA-CAR Director Villafe Alibuyog said.
Areas with low-income households and low incidence of Covid-19 cases will be prioritized but the system will eventually register every qualified applicant, Alibuyog said. – PNA