The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has assured all residents will be registered to the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), including persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens who cannot leave their homes.
PSA-CAR Regional Director Villafe Alibuyog on Wednesday said the PSA is looking at the plight of PWDs and the elderly who are unable to go to the fixed registration sites.
“Our plan is to do a house-to-house for them so that we can have them registered in the system,” Alibuyog said.
The officer said Step 2 of the registration process is ongoing in different pilot municipalities in the provinces and cities in the region. In Benguet, the pilot areas are the towns of Mankayan and Tublay where registration kits are provided.
“The process includes the taking of facial recognition, iris scan, and biometrics or fingermark of the person,” she said.
She said they are expecting to receive around a hundred more registration kits in September to fast-track the listing of persons in the system.
She said they are happy that in the Cordillera, the residents are very eager to be registered and receive a national identification.
Alibuyog advised residents who have not yet registered in Step 1 to log on to https://register.philsys.gov.ph for online registration and submit their basic demographic information. Once done, they can walk in at the Step 2 registration sites even if they are not scheduled as long as there are no long queues.
“They just need to be ready with their proof of identity that they used in Step 1 so that they can complete the process,” she said.
Alibuyog said registration for the national identification is a continuing activity of the PSA until all Filipinos are registered.
PSA Civil Register General Undersecretary Dennis Claire Mapa visited Tublay, Benguet last week to launch the Step 2 registration. He said that house-to-house strategies will be done in coordination with barangay officials for scheduling which will push through by September this year.
“PSA will be providing knapsack biometrics registration kits which are lighter, movable, and mobile so that these can be easily carried house-to-house,” Mapa said.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.
The national ID shall be a valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrollment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts.
It will also boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (PNA)
