MANILA – Senior citizens with a verified digital ID issued through eGovPH may no longer be required to submit a birth certificate when applying for government cash gifts, the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) said Friday.
NCSC Chairperson Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez said the digital ID already underwent verification through government databases, allowing the commission to use it as proof of identity and age for qualified beneficiaries.
“Kapag nagkaroon na ng ID from the eGov.ph kasi dumaan na iyan sa PSA – iyon na, hindi na kami hihingi ng birth certificate pa (Once they have an ID from eGov.ph, since it has already gone through the PSA, we will no longer ask for a birth certificate),” Gutierrez said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing.
She said the arrangement was developed through interagency coordination among the NCSC, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center.
The simplified requirement is expected to help elderly applicants who have difficulty securing birth certificates, one of the recurring problems encountered during validation of cash gift applications.
Gutierrez said the NCSC and local Offices for Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCAs) also work with the PSA to assist applicants whose civil registry documents are incomplete or unavailable.
Alternative documents may likewise be considered to establish an applicant’s age when a birth certificate cannot immediately be produced.
“Kung mayroon namang mga dokumento, mga ibang dokumento na puwedeng mapagkilanlan (If there are other documents that can establish their identities)… we resolve it in favor of the senior citizen applying for this,” she said.
Applications are initially filed with OSCAs, which forward the documents to the NCSC regional offices for validation, including checks for duplicate applications and confirmation that beneficiaries remain eligible. (PNA)
