THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday said the national identification system (ID) pre-registration or step 1 is going smoothly in the 32 priority provinces and that some 119 local government units (LGUs) have signed memorandum of agreements (MOAs) with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for the orderly roll-out of the program.
DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said the pre-registration for the national ID system which began Monday last week is a collaboration of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and LGUs to visit around five million Filipino households from 32 priority provinces with low COVID-19 cases.
Mandated under Republic Act 11055 enacted in 2018, the national ID program aims to replace over 46 different government IDs and provide convenience to the transacting public. Over time, the government sees the National ID as a tool to open bank accounts and to digitally transact as a cashless payment system.
For the government, the ID and the information it holds can cut bureaucratic red tape encountered on programs like cash transfers where the goal is to make it easier to track and distribute aid to beneficiaries.
Malaya said that while 119 LGUs have signed the MOA, another 216 have completed coordination with the PSA and are set to sign the MOAs this week in compliance with a DILG Memorandum on the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).
“It’s imperative to have the backing of LGUs to provide the necessary preparations and adherence to the minimum health protocols as teams from the PSA conduct their data collection from the identified low-income household heads within their respective jurisdictions,” he said.
Under MOAs with the PSA, the LGUs are expected to coordinate municipal and barangay-level meetings for briefings and discussions on PhilSys operations, identify locations for the registration centers, waiting areas, and temporary storage facilities, among others.
LGUs are also responsible for mobilizing all required resources for the pre-registration and registration activities such as registration area, electrical supply, storage areas of the registration kits, physical security, and crowd control, if necessary.
The LGUs will also provide logistical support to the registration process such as lending of back-up vehicles, as well as issuance of a clearance/certification to PhilSys registration teams to allow them access to all barangays.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año has directed concerned PNP unit commanders and Chiefs of Police to coordinate with the PSA and the priority LGUs to facilitate and secure the safe conduct of the pre-registration.
“The PNP has been directed to ensure the safety of both the PSA personnel and the residents they would interview amidst the continuing threat of COVID-19 and to ensure that minimum health standards are complied with,” said Malaya.
The registration process involves 2 stages of preregistration and registration proper, which will both follow health protocols like social distancing currently in practice to prevent the spread of coronavirus. For this year, the pre-registration/1st Step will be held from October 12 to December 30, while the registration proper/Step 2 will run from November 12 to December 30.
He said that coordination with LGUs and the preparatory activities for the expansion of the program on a wider scale next year in the other provinces are already ongoing.
He identified those provinces that have been prioritized in the rollout of the PhilSys pre-registration as the following:
· Region I – Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan
· Region II – Cagayan, Isabela
· Region III – Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales
· Region IV-A – Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal
· Region V – Albay, Camarines Sur, Masbate
· Region VI – Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental
· Region VII – Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental
· Region VIII – Leyte
· Region IX – Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental
· BARMM – Tawi-Tawi.
