President Duterte has lauded the start of the national identification program despite initial technical difficulties that marred the online registration.
In a televised address Monday, the President commended National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua for his work, telling him not to worry after the latter apologized for the glitches in the system.
"This is something which has been long I said been the dream of every administrator in government. You are one --- naano mo so I congratulate you. Do not worry. You have done your --- you give your precious time to the people," he told Chua during a meeting at the Malago Clubhouse Monday night, May 3.
Duterte recalled that the past administration tried to implement the national ID program but drew resistance from the left-leaning groups. He claimed that these groups made a "strong lobby" and "strong noise" against the national ID program so it did not push through then.
“Matagal na talagang gusto natin ‘yan, ang problema ang una (We wanted to have a national ID system a long time ago, but the problem is first, the loudest you could hear at the time was the Left. Ayaw nila kasi (They opposed it because) it will identify . May syndrome e, may syndrome sila so di natin masisisi (They have a syndrome so we can’t blame them),” he said.
Before the President's remarks, Chua issued an apology for the inconvenience caused by the technical issues during the pilot launch of online registration for the national ID system.
Chua explained the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) website was designed to accommodate 16,000 simultaneous users per minute but instead saw 46,000 applicants on the first day. The website was unable to handle the traffic, which caused the system to slow down.
"I have conveyed my sincerest apologies to the Filipino people for the inconvenience," Chua said in his remarks aired on state television.
"Malaki po 'yong demand at interes sa National ID. Ito ay three times the capacity. Ang nangyari po bumagal po 'yong website at maraming hindi na-serve kasi mayroon po tayong mga slowness or downtime (There was a huge demand and interest in the national ID. It was three times the capacity. The result was the website slowed down and many were not served since we were fixing the slowness or downtime)," he said.
Chua also thanked the people who registered and assured the public about efforts to address the problem and improve the system.
"At ngayon po kausap namin araw-araw 'yong mga international and local experts para tulungan po tayo na i-improve 'yong capacity at dahil ito ay isang pilot ay (And now we are talking to international and local experts to help us improve the capacity and since this is a pilot program) we will learn --- make sure to learn from our experience," he said.
In August 2018, the President signed Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act that requires Filipinos to register with the new ID system. The single ID card for Filipinos aims to promote interconnected governmental transactions as well as facilitate an improved environment for trade and commerce.
Duterte previously expressed dismay with the slow implementation of the national ID system, saying it could have facilitated the swift distribution of aid during the strict lockdown last year.