Pilot run of Phil ID for House lawmakers, personnel set

The target registrants for the Philsys ID include 304 lawmakers, their staff, and other employees of the House. (Photo: Ginno Alcantara/Philippine Canadian Inquirer)

MANILA — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is targeting the registration of about 4,300 individuals from the House of Representatives for the pilot testing of the Phil ID, the national ID under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), in November and December.

The target registrants for the Philsys ID include 304 lawmakers, their staff, and other employees of the House.

The pilot-testing will be held at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on November 25-28 and on December 2-5, which will start from 9 a.m up to 5 p.m.

The congressmen, as well as priority individuals like senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities, will register at Laurel Hall.

Meanwhile, registration for congressional staff and employees will be at Makalintal or Aquino Hall.

A total of 15 registration kits will be installed at the Makalintal or Aquino Hall, while the remaining five will be set up at Laurel Hall.

About six screeners, 20 encoders, roughly six information technology support staff, four supervisors, and four monitoring and evaluation officers from the PhilSys Registry Office will be deployed to man the mobile registration centers.

The pilot-testing at the House of Representatives is meant to assess the registration process to ensure seamless implementation during the massive rollout.

Republic Act (RA) 11055 or the PhilSys Act mandates the issuance of a national ID that will serve as a valid proof of identity for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens.

The national ID, which will be given for free, will eventually replace all other government-issued IDs, except the passport, driver’s license, and UMID ID.

The PhilSys will collate the Phil ID holder’s full name, sex, date and place of birth, blood type, and address. It will also indicate if a person is a Filipino or a resident alien.

The Phil ID will also contain the holder’s front-facing photo, full set of fingerprints, and an iris scan.

The disclosure of one’s marital status, mobile number, and electronic mail address is optional.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11055 in August 2018 to make government and private transactions simpler and faster.

The law tasks PSA as the implementing agency responsible for the overall planning, management, and administration of PhilSys, the government’s central platform for all citizen and resident aliens of the Philippines.

The PSA and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier signed a memorandum of agreement, designating the central bank to produce within three years 116 million cards that will have security features.

Pilot test registration will end in June 2020, while mass registration will begin by July 2020. Overseas Filipinos are targeted to be registered in 2021.