Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Tuesday called on anew local government units (LGUs) to continuously encourage their constituents to register in the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).
This is in support of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s order for the Philippine Statistics Authority to fast-track the delivery of almost 50 million PhilID cards by year end.
Abalos said LGUs should take the lead in explaining the importance and value of having a national ID which will serve as an official proof of identity for public and private transactions.
“We again call on LGUs, especially the barangays, to extend their full support to the President and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in the National ID campaign. Enjoin your constituents to get a National ID for easier validation and authentication of identity in their transactions with government offices, banks, and other private entities,” Abalos said in a news release.
He said barangay chairpersons can help the government’s national ID campaign by disseminating printed and electronic materials, making roving announcements and sharing registration-related updates from the official PhilSys social media pages.
“Kailangang masigasig ang mga LGUs at mga barangays sa kampanyang ito dahil gusto nating ang lahat ay magkaroon ng maayos na pagkakakilanlan para na rin mabilis silang maasikaso at makatanggap ng mga serbisyo ng gobyerno at ng mga pribadong opisina (LGUs and barangays must be diligent in this campaign because we want everyone to have a proper identity so that they can be attended to quickly and receive services from the government and private offices),” he said.
Abalos said having a PhilID becomes even more relevant during these times when almost everything is going digital and IDs are often required for online transactions, e-shopping, opening of e-bank accounts, and digital payments, among others.
He said the PhilID will also be beneficial to low-income persons who usually find it difficult to transact with and seek assistance from public and private offices which usually require two or more government IDs.
“Ang PhilID lang ay sapat na. Hindi na kailangan pang hingan o magpakita ng iba-ibang ID sa pakikipag-transaksyon sa pampubliko o pribadong tanggapan (PhilID alone is sufficient and there is no need to ask for or show different IDs when transacting in public or private offices),” Abalos said.
The DILG is a member of the PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council (PSPCC) which is tasked to formulate policies and guidelines to ensure effective coordination and implementation of the PhilSys.
It is also the pilot department in the entire executive branch for on-site PhilSys registration with some 1,704 people registering in the system during the activity.
In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos said the national ID will “play an important part in his administration’s pursuit for digital transformation, for citizens to be able to seamlessly transact with the government, their identities easily verifiable.”
“We expect to issue 30 million physical IDs and 20 million digital IDs by the end of this year. The target is to accomplish the issuance of about 92 million IDs by the middle of next year,” the President said.
Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, imposes a fine of PHP500,000 for not recognizing the national ID and without a valid reason for doing so.
Records from the PSA show that the total number of registrations completed as of July 1 is 69.254 million (75.3 percent) out of the 92 million target for 2022.
The Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost) has also distributed 14.397 million PhilID cards. (PNA)