PSA encourages parents to register kids for national ID

FILE: A Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) personnel takes the photo of a woman during the registration for the National ID at Barangay Kamuning Hall in Quezon City. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

MANILA – Getting a national ID could eventually ensure a smoother enrollment process for children aged 5 and up, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Sunday.

Emily Pagador, officer-in-charge and assistant national statistician of the PSA’s Use Case Development and Management Service (UCDMS), said this is one of the many benefits of getting children to register in the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).

Currently, children aged 5 and up can register for a national ID in PSA registration hubs. However, they have to update their biometric information by the age of 14.

“Mas maganda po sana kung mai-register niyo na rin yung anak niyo kahit 5 years old na siya. Huwag na antayin na 14 years old kasi di natin masasabi kung kailan nila kakailanganin yung national ID (It’s better to register your kids even if they are 5 years old. Don’t wait until they are 14 years old because we can’t say when we will be needing the national ID),” Pagador said in an interview over DZBB.

Pagador said the PSA will eventually incorporate and integrate the national ID into processes and databases of other government agencies.

“Mayroon kaming mga programa na eventually i-integrate natin yung ibang systems ng gobyerno. Makatulong ang national ID halimbawa sa enrollment ng bata. Maraming mga benepisyo ang national ID (We have a program that will eventually integrate this to other systems of government. The national ID can help, for example, with the enrollment of kids. The national ID has a lot of benefits),” she added.

Pagador said senior citizens are also encouraged to get their national IDs despite their age.

She said the PSA is conducting house-to-house registration for seniors and persons with disabilities who are not physically able to register in designated hubs.

“Mayroon naman po ginagawa na programa ang Philsys na pinupuntahan na rin minsan sa mga bahay-bahay lalo na kung may mga kababayan na di po makalabas because physically they are unable to (The PhilSys has a program where house-to-house visits are being conducted for those who are physically unable to),” she said.

She noted that PSA started conducting house-to-house visits during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, she expressed confidence in achieving their goal of issuing a total of 50 million PhilIDs by end of 2022.

Of this figure, 30 million will be physical IDs while the remaining 20 million will be digital IDs.

“Kakayanin naman po natin ‘yun. Piniprepare lang po namin yung iba pong detalye para ma-ensure na once na i-roll out itong ID, smooth po ang aming pagdeploy sa mga registration centers. Hindi po tayo magke-create ng mahabang pila para sa dun sa mga kababayan natin na excited magkaroon ng ID (We will be able to do it. We are just preparing other details to ensure that our deployment to registration centers will be smooth once these are IDs rolled out. We will not create long lines for our countrymen excited to receive their digital IDs),” she said.

As of Aug. 19, 72 million Filipinos have registered to PhilSys.

The PSA has delivered a total of 15.3 million national IDs across the country.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier directed the PSA to issue 30 million PhilIDs by the end of 2022 and register 92 million of the country’s population in the PhilSys by mid-2023.

Under Republic Act 11055 or the PhilSys Act, the PhilID shall be accepted and recognized for government and private transactions, and shall be considered as an official and sufficient valid proof of identity for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens.

The PSA is 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, according to RA 11055.