Minors, seniors allowed to go out for PhilSys registration

MANILA – Filipinos aged 15 to 17 and 65 and above who opt to register for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) may leave their homes, Malacañang said on Friday. 

This was after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) allowed them to go out, but only for PhilSys registration, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press statement.

Under Resolution 114 approved on Thursday, the IATF-EID acknowledged that registering at PhilSys is “an essential government service and in support of the vaccine deployment to the general population.”

“The IATF allows individuals 15 to 17 years old, and above 65 years old to leave their residence for the purpose of proceeding to registration centers of the Philippine Statistics Authority for the Philippine Identification System Step 2 Registration,” the IATF-EID Resolution 114 read.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the primary implementing agency, opened the PhilSys online portal to the public on April 30. 

Registrants may access the Step 1 registration process of PhilSys through the online portal. The first step involves the collection of information, including the full name, gender, date, and place of birth, blood type, and address.

After the first step, the Step 2 registration process will be at assigned registration centers. The second step involves the validation of demographic information and capture of biometric information.

The third step of the registration is the issuance of the PhilSys Number and PhilID, the national identification card under the PhilSys.

Republic Act 11055 or the PhilSys Act, signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte in August 2018, creates the PhilID as a valid proof of identity for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens of the Philippines.

On April 5, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the three major uses of PhilSys are subsidy distribution, financial inclusion, and efficient vaccine distribution.

The PhilID, which will be given for free, will eventually replace all other government-issued IDs, except the passport, driver’s license, and Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID).

It contains the 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 and also features the holder’s front-facing photo, a full set of fingerprints, and an iris scan.

It is optional for Filipinos to disclose their marital status, mobile number, and electronic mail address.

On March 19, Duterte urged his fellow Filipinos to avail themselves of the PhilID, which he said would make transactions in government and the private sector simpler and faster.

Duterte also reminded Filipinos who want to register at PhilSys to follow strict minimum health standards.

The government aims to register 50 million Filipinos by the end of 2021.