Nat’l ID to expedite aid release to vulnerable sectors

FILE: Sample of the front design of the PhilSyS/Philippine Identification Document (ID) card. (Photo By Philippine Statistics Office – Philippine Information Agency, Public Domain)

MANILA – The government will prioritize systems that will expedite the delivery of food aid or financial support to vulnerable sectors, one of which is the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) or national ID system.

This according to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who at the Tapatan sa Aristocrat virtual forum on Monday, stressed the importance of an accurate national database in order to release aid to the country’s population quickly and efficiently.

“The challenges the government faced in the distribution of the social amelioration program (SAP) cash subsidies highlight the need for a national ID system,” said Nograles.

According to Nograles, who is also the chair of the government’s Zero Hunger Task Force, “increasing access to and expediting the delivery of social services to the most vulnerable groups — the poor, women, persons with disabilities, older persons, children, indigenous peoples, among others — is one of the biggest challenges in implementing social protection programs under the new normal.”

“These social protection programs include food aid programs and subsidies for families that need them,” he added.

Nograles pointed out that among the priority policies and strategies identified by the Zero Hunger Task Force is to fast-track the implementation of the national ID system to develop a registry of vulnerable persons and groups using data from the PhilSys, Listahanan or National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, Community-Based Monitoring System, Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture, and the government’s registry for the social amelioration program (SAP) that will expedite the delivery of social services and aid.

“Having that information on hand will allow us to immediately identify beneficiaries for our various food security programs, whether it be subsidies for agricultural workers to improve productivity, or food aid for poor families,” said Nograles, a vocal supporter of the national ID system during his third term as Davao representative.

He said that as of last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority announced that registration kits are now available, that the automated biometric system has already been procured, and the service provider is working on the authentication system that would be used to verify persons registered in the PhilSys.

The contract for the systems integrator, on the other hand, will be awarded by July.

Nograles added that the PSA, which is the primary implementing agency to carry out the provisions of the Philippine Identification System Act of 2018, has already identified the data centers for the PhilSys, which are under the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

“Per the latest PSA update, all data centers will be on board starting next month,” he said.