Over 72 million Filipinos have so far registered for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Based on the PSA figures, as of Aug. 26, 72,348,546 Filipinos have completed their PhilSys Step 2 Registration which involves capturing biometric information, such as fingerprints, iris, and front-facing photographs.
It said that this makes up 78.6 percent of the 92 million registration target for 2022.
PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, in a statement on Monday, Sept. 19, considered the registration of over 72 million Filipinos as an outcome of the collective efforts of the PSA regional and provincial field offices in their initiatives through mobile and institutional registrations.
“The PSA is exerting all efforts as we set our sights on accomplishing the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to distribute 50 million PhilIDs (Philippine IDs) by the end of the year," said Mapa, also the National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.
“We would like to assure the public that we are on track in achieving our goal to provide immediate and improved access to financial and social protection services, especially to low-income individuals,” he added.
The PSA aims at issuing 30 million physical cards and 20 million digital IDs by the end of 2022, which will be available in various formats-printable, downloadable, and mobile app-generated.
"The digital ID has the same functionality and validity as the physical PhilID cards," OIC Deputy National Statistician Fred Sollesta of the PhilSys Registry Office said.
"Expected to be rolled out this year, this will allow Filipinos to enjoy the benefits of being registered to PhilSys while waiting for their physical cards,” he added.