PhilSys hits 91% of target in CV
A TOTAL of 6.5 million individuals have registered for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) in Central Visayas in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority Central Visayas (PSA 7).
Based on data from PSA 7 Director Ariel Florendo, the region’s PhilSys registration tally stands at 6,521,136 as of Dec. 31, 2023.
The state statistician said the figure represents 91 percent of the target of 7.2 million registrations for last year.
The data, released on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, revealed the distribution of registrations across the region. Cebu leads with 4,140,045 registrations, followed by Negros Oriental with 1,150,746, Bohol with 1,139,677, and Siquijor with 90,668 registrations.
PSA 7 Chief Administrative Officer Edwina Carriaga said they are continuing to expedite the printing and delivery of physical national IDs or PhilIDs, as well as the issuance of ePhilIDs.
She said in Central Visayas, at least 4,343,723 PhilIDs have been issued, accounting for 66 percent of the total registered individuals. Additionally, 2,243,106 ePhilIDs have been issued.
The ePhilID is a strategy of the PSA that will allow more Filipinos to immediately enjoy the benefits of being PhilSys-registered even without receiving the physical card.
Mobile registration
“There are 2.3 million with PhilID cards, so we can say that two out of three PhilSys-registered have their physical cards,” she said.
Carriaga said the system has been designed to provide individuals with a unique and permanent identification number that can be used for various transactions with the government and private sector.
She added that they are committed to registering all remaining individuals in Central Visayas and ensuring they enjoy the benefits of being PhilSys-registered, including streamlined access to government services, financial transactions, and social protection programs.
To encourage those who have not yet registered to PhilSys, she said their registration sites are still in operation to accommodate those unregistered.
She said they are actively reaching out to all qualified unregistered citizens through “PhilSys on Wheels” in barangays or mobile registration programs where they travel to remote areas or challenging geographic locations.
She said barangays can send requests to PSA 7 to have a mobile PhilSys registration in their barangays, particularly in areas with fewer registrants.
Carriaga said the national target is for at least 92 million Filipinos to be registered on or before June 2024. Currently, 85 million Filipinos have been registered.
Delay
Carriaga apologized and asked for understanding from those who registered years ago but have not yet received their PhilIDs. She explained, “When we started the program, the system was new, so for now, we are trying to improve everything.”
However, she encouraged the public to use the online tracker to check the delivery status of their PhilIDs at https://tracking.phlpost.gov.ph/.
In a report last 2023, Florendo told SunStar Cebu that double-checking, cross-checking and verification were the reasons for the delay in issuing the national IDs.
“It really is the checking of the documents—verifying. We don’t want to have mistakes, such as one person having two IDs with different names,” he said.
Then President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11055, also known as the Philippine Identification System Act, into law in August 2018. This national ID serves as the government’s primary identification platform for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens, including foreigners who have resided in the Philippines for at least a year. / KJF