Nat'l ID registration at Bulacan mall suspended following overcrowding incident
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has apologized for the suspension of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) registration at a mall in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan following overcrowding of registrants last Wednesday, May 19.
"The PSA regrets the overcrowding incident on 19 May 2021 at a Step 2 Registration center at the mall in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience experienced by the scheduled registrants, and for the suspension of operations to manage the situation," it said in a statement on Friday, May 21.
"The public is hereby advised that PhilSys operations at the mall in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan are temporarily suspended. Registrants affected will receive an SMS from the PSA regarding the suspension and when registration will resume," it added.

Based on the agency's initial investigation, the incident in Bulacan was due to the spread of "false information" saying it was the "last day of registration for a particular barangay, and cash grants will be provided after the bank account opening."
The PSA said a thorough investigation on the incident is already being conducted with the local government of San Jose del Monte.
For the health and safety of all concerned, the PSA reminded registrants to strictly follow the appointment date and time for their Step 2 Registration to prevent similar incidents.
A three-step registration process has been established to ensure that health protocols are properly observed by managing the number of registrants at a given registration center, the PSA pointed out.
It also advised the public to go to the PhilSys official website philsys.gov.ph and PhilSys Facebook page PSAPhilSysOfficial to check official advisories, as well as to verify information received from unofficial sources.
Moreover, the PSA reminded the public that obtaining civil registry documents at the PSA Complex, East Avenue, Quezon City is only for those who have requested a prior appointment.
This is due to the existing limited capacity in the number of clients that PSA can accept per day during the implementation of general community quarantine.