THE government’s issuance of the national identification cards has surpassed the 60 million mark, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In a statement posted on the internet, the PSA said a total of 29,119,471 PhilIDs had been delivered, while 30,738,330 ePhilIDs have been issued out as of last April 21.
PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa, national statistician and civil registrar general, said the milestone serves as an impetus for the PSA as it continues working towards its goal of creating a “Makabagong Pilipinas where services are more accessible to all Filipinos.”
“PSA makes sure that all those who registered for the PhilSys will have their PhilID at ePhilID,” he said.
Registered individuals were reminded to keep their transaction slips, which they must present during the delivery of their PhilID, and to check if they can claim their ePhilID using their Transaction Reference Number (TRN) found in the slip.
The PSA expected more public and private institutions to recognize the ePhilID, the digital version of the PhilID, as a valid proof of identity of individuals availing of government services, or even doing transactions with financial firms.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) have already released issuances and advisories for the acceptance of the ePhilID as a valid proof of identity.
The DSWD has directed all its offices, including attached agencies, to recognize the ePhilID as a government-issued identification document for individuals availing the services and programs of the agency.
The DFA also advised its staff to accept the ePhilID as a government-issued valid ID for passport processing.
The BSP likewise issued a memorandum to all institutions under it on the use and acceptance of the ePhilID as sufficient proof of identity in its supervised banks/non-bank financial institutions. This means that individuals can do financial transactions, such as opening a bank account, using the ePhilID.
The PSA started last October 2022 its implementation of the printed ePhilID which is printed on a piece of paper.
The PSA gave assurance that every person registered in the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) is allocated a physical PhilID card, which they will still receive even if they claim their printed ePhilID.
With the printed ePhilID, registered persons can immediately utilize the benefits of PhilSys, such as faster and seamless transactions in accessing financial and social protection services requiring proof of identity, subject to authentication.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said during his first SONA last year that the government was targeting to issue a total of 92 million IDs – both physical and digital – by the middle of this year.
