All systems go for nat’l ID registration: Chua

FILE: Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua during a press briefing at the New Executive Building in Malacañang on January 8, 2018. TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA – It’s all systems go for the registration of an initial nine million Filipinos under the national ID system starting Monday (October 12), Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

“We have sufficient budget to begin the registration this year. And we are waiting for additional budget, which we have submitted so that we can begin the preparation right now to continue the registration next year,” he said during the virtual briefing for the kick-off activity Friday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) targets to conduct the registration under the Philippine Identification System (Philsys), initially in 32 provinces that are considered low-risk areas for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

These provinces have been selected based on the location of the bottom 40 percent of poor families in the country.

Of the nine million individuals to be included in the initial batch of national ID registrants, five million are low-income household heads while the rest are adult household members.

The demographic data that will be asked by the survey enumerators include full name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, blood type, permanent and present address, and whether the registrant is a Filipino or a resident alien.

Optional questions are marital status, mobile number, and e-mail address.

The national ID system aims to provide a foundational ID system in the country and eliminate the need for lots of IDs from various national government agencies, enhance the disbursement of subsidies and social protection aid from the government, and increase financial inclusion and deepening, among others.

The government targets to provide about 92 million Filipinos with the national ID by end-June 2022.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa, during the same briefing, said they selected the initial batch of provinces to be surveyed to ensure the safety of both the registrants and the enumerators.

He said the registration of all households will be made starting January 2021 through the help of local government units, partner-agencies, and other stakeholders.

The cost of this program is about PHP27.

8 billion.