It is quite ironic that after the hullabaloo regarding the arrival of a Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), the national program that will store the data of Filipino citizens and foreign permanent residents, the majority still haven’t received their physical or digital national IDs (officially known as PhilSys ID) after more than a year of registration.

To be fair and clear, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has said that “75.8 million Filipinos have already registered to the PhilSys,” while as of Jan. 13, 2023, “almost 29 million PhilSys IDs were printed and more than 15.7 million ePhilSys IDs were issued.” Is the volume too much for the PSA to handle? We will never know but part of the PSA’s efforts to fast-track the issuance of national IDs included initiating a house-to-house distribution strategy and pilot implementing a website that allowed registered individuals to download a PDF copy of their ePhilSys ID on their mobile devices. It is also studying the launch of a mobile app with the assistance of the private sector.

The importance of a national ID can’t be stressed enough. In fact, its importance was highlighted during the President’s first 100 days and even included in his first State of the Nation Address. In it, the President said: “The national ID will play an important part in digital transformation. For citizens to be able to seamlessly transact with the government, their identity must be easily verifiable.”

The President then projected that “30 million physical IDs and 20 million digital IDs will be issued by the end of 2022.” Referring to the present data, the PSA has not passed the threshold but is somewhere within the boundaries. This year, the President announced that the target is “to accomplish the issuance of about 92 million IDs by the middle (of 2023).” 

Part of the solution is reaching out to the private sector. During the President’s meeting with members of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) last Jan. 12 in Malacañang, he reiterated his order to “hasten the digitalization of the Philippine Identification System to ensure the cardholders’ seamless transactions with the public and private sectors.” 

According to a statement from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO),  the President asked “the private sector to help get the national ID out, noting it has the technology and capability for new digital IDs. The benefits of adopting a digital ID system include identity theft protection, access for credit card and loan applications, and usage as a digital wallet."

PCO’s Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the digital ID integration to a digital wallet would help eliminate long lines in Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) distribution, and support the government's anti-fraud and anti-scamming efforts.

“Digitalization of PhilSys ID would facilitate the faster disbursement of government cash aid and improved monitoring of the DSWD programs,” Garafil said. “The valid proof of ID by PhilSys is expected to simplify public and private transactions and become a social and economic platform that promotes seamless social service delivery and strengthen financial inclusion for both public and private services."

So, what are we waiting for? The 92 million target may be an ambitious goal and a tall order but with political will, synergy between public and private sectors, and of course, cooperation from Filipinos, it should be doable and achievable.