March 28, 2024

By the end of 2022, 1.3 million people in the Cordillera would have been re-gistered with the Philippine identification system.
Now on full blast with the registration of individuals five years old and above, Philippine Statistics Authority-CAR Chief Administrative Officer Adrian Cerezo said additional team members who were recently hired to facilitate the registration has just completed their training are due for deployment at various areas in the region.
The 1.3 million target this year is apart from the 500,000 already registered in 2021.
As of May 2020, the Cordillera has a population of 1,797,660.
As of Feb. 5, there were 114,169 individuals who have already taken step 2 in the registration process or the taking of biometrics.
Cerezo said collected biometrics information from every registrant undergo verification to ensure accuracy of data and avoid double registration, prior to submission to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the printing of PhilSys ID cards.
To facilitate registration, the PSA is also coordinating with local government units for mobile registration especially at geographically isolated and depressed areas.
Of those whose biometrics have been verified and data submitted to the BSP, 11,763 national IDs have been delivered to the recipients, Cerezo said.
He asked for the public to be patient while waiting for the delivery of IDs as verification of biometric data, printing of ID cards, and delivery take time.
“The PSA is trying to address the delivery of the national ID cards. We ask the public to be patient. This is not an emergency situation,” Cerezo said.
Cerezo said apart from the processes that have to be done to ensure accuracy of data, the PhilPost also encounter challenges in the delivery of the ID cards.
Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act aims to establish a single national identification system for all citizens and resident aliens of the Philippines.
Signed into law in 2018, the valid proof of identity provided by the PhilSys is a digital ID aimed at transforming how services are delivered and accessed in the Philippines, and accelerating the country’s transition to a digital economy, including to enable presenceless, paperless, and cashless transactions. – Rimaliza A. Opiña