PSA Iloilo gears up for step two of national ID registration

By Lilibeth A. French

 

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Iloilo is preparing for the implementation of Step 2 of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) or national ID system registration in the province.

PSA-Iloilo Provincial Director Nelida Amolar said coordination has been made with local government units for the establishment of the fixed registration centers for the registration of identified pre-registrants in their respective municipalities.

The registration will start Nov 25 to Dec 30, 2020.

“For now, we are preparing the Memorandum of Agreement with the local chief executives for the PhylSis fixed registration centers,” Amolar said.

She said more than 200 registration officers or enumerators were deployed to get the demographic information of the target 376,854 pre-registrants from the selected 35 municipalities of the province since October 12.

The province of Iloilo was included in the 32 priority areas in the country chosen by the PSA and the PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council for the first phase of the implementation of the Philsys registration.

The target pre-registrants who are heads of the low-income households were identified through the Listahanan 3 data of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and based on the bottom 40 percent from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey of 2018.

Amolar said the information that will be collected by the registration officers will be encoded in the PSA system and registrants will be given appointment slips which they will present during their scheduled visit at the fixed registration center in their municipalities for their biometrics.

“The pre-registration intends to avoid congestion at the registration centers. We have to strictly implement health protocols to prevent further spread of COVID 19,” she said.

She added that the 376,854 Ilonggo are part of the initial 5 million Filipinos that PSA targets to register before the year ends through PhilSys.

In August 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11055, known as the Philippine Systems Act, that mandates PSA to implement PhilSys aimed at establishing a single national identification system for all citizens and resident aliens of the Philippines.

Amolar said heads of low-income households are prioritized in the registration this year to enable them, with their national ID to open bank accounts so that they would be able to receive their government assistance or benefits digitally, in the light of COVID-19 pandemic. (PIA)