The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Wednesday that minors aged 15 to 17 years old and senior citizens above 65 years old may now leave their homes to complete their Step 2 registration for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).

This as the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) issued IATF-EID Resolution No. 114 that recognizes PhilSys registration as an essential government service in support of vaccine deployment.

“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 (PSA) for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Step 2 Registration,” the IATF-EID Resolution No. 114 states.

Step 2 registration involves capturing the biometric information and validation of the documents of registrants.

The public is advised to strictly adhere to health and safety protocols from the IATF-EID to protect themselves and the registration staff during their stay at registration centers. Minors are required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Meanwhile, the PSA opened more registration centers for the Step 2 online appointment booking. As of 01 July 2021, registrants may book their appointment in any of the 415 registration centers across 78 provinces nationwide.

In a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) report released on Friday, more than 37.2 million Filipinos have been registered to the PhilSys.

The agency said the PSA is on track to reaching its 50 to 70 million target registrations by the end of 2021.

PSA said some 16.2 million individuals have also completed their Step 2 registration or biometrics capture while 343,742 registrants have already received their PhilID or national ID cards.