Malacañang said those aged 15 to 17 years old and those above 65 are now allowed to leave their homes so they can register for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement a week after the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) opened online digital ID registration for the national ID system.
In a statement, Roque said the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed the said group of people to leave their homes so they can register for the PhilSys.
"The IATF allows individuals ages 15 to 17 years old, and above 65 years old to leave their residence for the purpose of proceeding to registration centers of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for the Philippine Identification System Step 2 Registration," he said Friday.
Meanwhile, in an interview over State-run PTV-4, Roque reiterated that the said group of people were allowed to leave their homes for getting essential goods and services or to go to their workplaces aside from registering for the PhilSys.
Those below the age of 18 and over 65 are not allowed to leave their residences due to the threat of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic except when necessary. Covered by the same restrictions are those with health risks and pregnant women.
In March this year, President Duterte asked the public to give the PhilSys or the national ID system a chance as he assured them that this will make their lives more convenient.
"As we pursue this long-overdue project, I ask every Filipino to give PhilySys a chance so that we may maximize the advantages of a universal and secure database that will make transactions more efficient and our lives more convenient," he said.
"Let me assure everyone as well as apart from its primary purpose of providing a resilient digital identification system for all Filipinos, PhilSys will also uphold the privacy of all personal information," he added.
NEDA opened the online registration for the PhilSys on April 30 but the website was not readily accessible due to "technical difficulties."