The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) will launch the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) online nationwide on Feb.26.
In an update posted on its website on Feb. 23 night, PSA invited the public to watch the streaming of PhilSys Ceremonial Event dubbed “#IDnatin: Prepare and Cooperate with the Innovative Philippines.
“Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and to our countrymen in different parts of the world: Watch out for the PhilSys Ceremonial Event that will be shown on our Facebook page (fb.com/PSAPhilSysOfficial), at 1 p.m.,” the post read.
PSA said the event aims to educate the public on the process of PhilSys registration and the benefits Filipinos and resident aliens could get with a single national ID.
The virtual event will showcase the three steps to register for PhilSys.
President Rodrigo Duterte and officials of various national agencies are expected to attend the event, it said.
“With President Rodrigo Duterte and officials of various agencies, find out the next steps for the implementation of PhilSys. This is #IDnatin: Prepare and Unite For Innovative Philippines. Use #IDnatin and invite the whole family, friends, and acquaintances to watch,” the post added.
PSA said PhilSys' Step 1 registration process is currently ongoing in the entire country. It involves the house-to-house visitation of PhilSys enumerators to get the demographic information of each registrant.
After this, the enumerators will set an appointment schedule for Step 2, which involves validating the supporting documents and collecting biometric information, including the registrant’s fingerprint scan, iris scan, and front–facing photograph.
PSA made it clear that health protocols and safety measures would be strictly enforced in all the registration activities in line with the coronavirus disease pandemic.
The agency said Step 3 is the stage where all the information encoded in the system will be validated. After validation, PSA issues PhilSys Number (PSN) and Phil ID to the registrant.
The PSN can also be used as proof of identity if the registrant fails to bring his Phil ID card.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.
The national ID shall be a valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrollment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts.
It will also boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (Judy Quiros/PNA)
