THE registration for the National ID System is ongoing at the Rizal Elementary School in Bacolod City Mondays to Saturdays.
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia along with other City Hall executives including City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan, Secretary to the Mayor lawyer Edward Joseph Cuansing, Supervising and Administrative Officer Federico Guanzon Jr., and Public Employement Service Office (Peso)-Bacolod head Ma. Rebecca Balicas registered with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Step 2 last week.
Provincial Chief Statistical Specialist Luis Gonzales of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Negros Occidental said in a statement they are catering to registrants ages 15 years old and above.
The ongoing registration is already “Step 2” of the PhilSys registration process. Step 2 is for the validation of supporting documents and capturing biometric information of registrants.
In "Step 1" conducted last year, a house-to-house interview to gather the demographic data using tablets was done by PSA-commissioned data collectors. An appointment slip for Step 2 was then issued to each interviewee.
Gonzales said for Step 1 in Bacolod, the PSA prioritized members of some low-income families included in the list furnished by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
“In our Step 1, we already catered even to those small children (below 15 years old),” he said.
The PSA has made significant progress in the last quarter of 2020 with over 8.4 million Filipinos completing the PhilSys Step 1 Registration.
“Our process right now is to prioritize those who registered last year but there are instances that they are not able to come, which is why we also cater to walk-in registrants,” said Gonzales.
On January 4, 2021, the PSA started gradual and small-scale registration in selected provinces in the country. In Bacolod, the Step 2 registration kicked off on February 23, 2021.
The PSA targets to register the majority of Filipinos by the end of 2022.
Republic Act 11055, or the “Philippine Identification System Act,” aimed to establish a single national identification system for all citizens and resident aliens in the Philippines.
Aside from providing valid proof of identity, establishing a single Philippine Identification System would help transform and streamline the delivery of services, resulting in easier access to and application for social welfare programs and benefits from the government.
Promoting ease of doing business, enhancing the integrity of services and reducing fraud, enabling and promoting participation and trust in digital government and the digital economy, and empowering Filipinos with greater control over their personal data are also among the objectives of the PhilSys.