Mayor Vico Sotto on Monday, Dec. 1, assured all families in Pasig City, especially those facing integration problems with their PasigPass and the National ID, that they will still receive their Pamaskong Handog (PH) packs as Christmas approaches.

The PasigPass, integrated with the National ID, is used to verify families and ensure that each family receives only one PH pack. This system helps prevent duplicate or fraudulent claims and ensures a fair distribution for all.

Sotto acknowledged complaints from Pasigueños regarding verification issues, such as log-in errors and difficulties completing the process.

To address this, he assured that every family facing integration problems will still receive at least one PH pack and that the PH team will temporarily override the system.

“Kaya ang instruction natin sa PH team ay kung sa isang bahay ay talagang lahat [family members] ay nagkakaproblema sa integration ng PasigPass, National ID, ay magbigay pa rin. I-override na lang po muna yung system. Mag-iwan pa rin pero isa lang ang iiwan. ‘Yan po ang instruction natin (Our instruction to the PH team is that if all family members in a household are having problems with PasigPass and National ID integration, they should still be given their PH packs. The system will be temporarily overridden, but only one pack per family will be provided),” Sotto explained.

However, Sotto encouraged all families to have at least one member complete the integration process, noting that over 300,000 Pasigueños have already linked their PasigPass with the National ID, showing that nearly every family in Pasig has at least one verified account.

The mayor explained that the integration of PasigPass with the Philippine Identification System or the National ID is one of the city’s key projects for 2025-2026.

He said that the project helps the city government deliver its services to Pasigueños more efficiently by ensuring that the city’s data is clean and factual, making it difficult to manipulate or falsify.

Related story: https://mb.com.ph/2025/09/05/pasigpass-integrates-with-national-id-for-cleaner-data-driven-governance

“Sa pag-integrate natin ng PasigPass sa National ID, nagiging mas efficient tayo dahil mas makatotohanan at malinis ang ating datos. Hindi na p'wedeng pekein dahil nung mga nakaraang taon, ang daming fraud na nangyayari (By integrating the PasigPass with the National ID, we become more efficient because our data is cleaner and more accurate. It can no longer be falsified, as many fraudulent cases occurred in previous years),” he said.

“Napansin natin na may iba, baka dalawa o tatlong pamilya lang naman sa iisang bahay o sa iisang istraktura pero dinedeclare nila [na] anim, pito para mas marami (We have noticed that some households, even if there are only two or three families in a single house or structure, declare six or seven families in order to receive more packs),” he added.

The mayor said that in previous years, there were cases of fraud during program rollouts, which cost the city a lot. For example, during fire incidents, some people who were not affected tried to take advantage of the system.

“Ang problema lang po kasi, ‘pag may nanlalamang, may nanawalan. ‘Yan po ang tototoo kaya kailangan gumawa po tayo ng mga sistema kung saan mas mahirap manloko, mas mahirap manlamang para patas po tayo (The problem is that when someone takes advantage, someone else loses. That is the truth, which is why we need systems that make it harder to cheat or exploit, so that everything is fair),” Sotto continued.

As this is the first year of the integration's implementation, he asked for everyone’s understanding, noting that new systems, apps, or programs require continuous debugging, recalibrating, and adjustment until perfected.

He added that the integration project not only helps with the PH distribution but also supports planning and developing future programs in various offices, such as the Office for Senior Citizens Affairs, Persons with Disability Affairs Office, City Engineering Office, City Planning and Development Office, City Health Department, and even hospitals, saying that with a clean database, city projects can continue to improve.