THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said it is ready to start with the pre-registration phase for the National ID system on Oct. 12.
In a text message Sunday, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said training and equipment for registration officers have been provided in preparation for the rollout. Tablets to be used in data collection have also been delivered to the agency’s provincial offices, he said.
The PSA opted to start with pre-registration of heads of household in 32 provinces and cities with low number of active cases to minimize the risk of further spreading coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
“The PSA personnel are ready… The pre-registration is needed to avoid crowding at the registration centers and to minimize the time of the registrants at the registration centers, since only three sets of biometric information will be collected: fingerprints, iris scan and photograph,” Mr. Mapa said.
He said registrants that finish the first step will be given an appointment slip to visit the registration center to complete the process.
The 32 priority areas for registration are: 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 City, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu City, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Compostela Valley, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental and Tawi-Tawi.
The government aims to register at least five million heads of household this year for the National ID system, formally known as the Philippine Identification System.
The PSA is currently preparing to bring in potential partners from the private sector to help the government with next year’s mass registration.
The agency wants to register 40 million more each year in 2021-2022 to cover most Filipinos before President Rodrigo R. Duterte steps down.
The program was authorized under Republic Act No. 11055 passed in August 2018 to establish a single identification system for all citizens and eventually replace redundant government-issued IDs. — Beatrice M. Laforga