PSA registers 50 million Filipinos under national ID system
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has achieved its national ID registration target of 50 million for 2021.
In a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 14, PSA said that over 50 million Filipinos have completed their Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Step 2 Registration as of Dec. 11.
Step 2 Registration involves the validation of supporting documents and collection of biometric information such as iris scans, fingerprints, and front-facing photographs.
Despite the pandemic, the PSA said that they were able to start the Step 2 Registration in January 2021 in 32 priority provinces that were considered low-risk areas for coronavirus disease.
"The PSA salutes all those who contributed to this milestone for the PhilSys Step 2 Registration," said PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa.
"Notwithstanding the pandemic and the restrictions that came with it, the PSA—together with its field offices, partner agencies, and key stakeholders—worked relentlessly to ensure that more Filipinos can begin registering for their PhilIDs (Philippine IDs)," he added.
The three-step PhilSys registration process began in October 2020, which prioritized low-income households in the 32 priority provinces.
"As part of the PhilSys Step 1 Registration, PhilSys registration team conducted house-to-house collection of the registrants’ demographic information amid the extended quarantine protocols," the PSA said.
The nationwide collection of registrants’ demographic information was also made possible with the launch of the online PhilSys registration site in April 2021.
The PSA said that as of Dec. 10, 4.4 million Filipinos have already received their PhilID cards.
"These cards will soon have a digital version through the soon-to-be-launched PhilSys mobile app. Registrants can already use this alternative while waiting for their actual PhilIDs," it said.