The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) urged local government units (LGUs) to use the Digital National ID for civil registration services as the country shifts toward digitalization.
Nearly 1,000 local civil registrars (LCRs) and LGU representatives learned about the Digital National ID and its benefits at a briefing during the 4th National Convention on Civil Region and Vital Statistics (NCCRVS) at the SMX Convention Center in Clark, Pampanga.
As a valid form of identification, the Digital National ID can be used in transactions and authenticated through the National ID system’s authentication services. Identity verification can be done by scanning the ID’s QR code or through the registered person’s biometrics, the PSA said.
The Digital National ID is free and can be accessed with a smartphone using the eGovPH app. Users can download the app and follow the prompts to create an account and access their ID, which requires a live selfie.
As of July 13, 2025, a total of 88,236,337 Digital National IDs were ready for access, making it a widely available and valid ID for Filipinos to use in transactions such as requests for civil registry documents.
PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, encouraged LCRs and LGU representatives to embrace their role as stewards of identity.
“Let us pause and let us reflect on the profound responsibility we hold not just as public servants, but as stewards of every Filipino’s identity,” Mapa said.
Nicole Dane Navea, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the feedback and grievance division of the PhilSys Registry Office, said the wider use of identity systems like the National ID is in line with government digitalization efforts, and that LCRs are key to this transformation.
“As frontliners, as duty bearers of our civil registration system, you are part of this transformation. You are included, and in fact, you are the ones leading as implementers of digitalization,” Navea said.
Navea called on LCRs to proactively guide clients in accessing and using their Digital National ID when seeking civil registry services.
“Let’s make this part of the conversation, whether they are applying for late registration or securing certified true copies of their civil registry document,” Navea said.
“We encourage you to guide your clients in [the step-by-step] process, especially when they come to your offices,” she said.
The PSA said it has already onboarded several LGUs to the National ID system and successfully integrated its authentication services.
The local government of Tublay, Benguet, was the first municipality to integrate with the National ID authentication services. Municipal Civil Registrar (MCR) Ruth Elyn Dino said the identity verification measure has made the release of civil registry documents more secure.
“We have come to be secured in the issuance and the release of documents from our archives,” Dino said. “So [for] civil registry documents, when we release them, we are more at ease that the person we are releasing them to, or to whom we are issuing them, is the rightful recipient.”
Similarly, the integration allowed the local government of Maasin City, Southern Leyte and its Records Verification System (RVS) to streamline the processing of birth, death and marriage certificate requests by removing the need for manual record checking and encoding of a client’s personal information.
