PhilID biometrics registration passes 40M, considered for Filipinos living abroad

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is considering extending its Philippine ID (PhilID) program to Filipinos living and working abroad, according to the Inquirer, as a biometric enrollment milestone has been reached.

The move was announced by Deputy National Statistician and Assistant Secretary Rosalinda Bautista last Friday.

Speaking during an online event, Bautista said the PSA and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will soon test the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) registration in some unnamed overseas areas.

The registration process will reportedly be similar to the one carried out in the Philippines, with individuals first registering online (Step 1), then attending a biometric capture appointment at selected centers (Step 2), and finally receiving their PhilID and unique PhilSys Numbers (PSNs) (Step 3).

However, because of access issues, Bautista also said that the cost of registration abroad will be substantially higher than in the Philippines, as some countries in the unnamed list do not have Philippine consulates or embassies that could have been used for citizens’ biometric registration.

To tackle this issue, PSA and DFA may potentially deploy caravans or registration centers in shopping malls abroad or alternatively allow Filipinos abroad to register when they go back home for holidays or to visit.

In addition, during her online speech, Bautista also unveiled a new mobile app that will act as a digital ID, allowing users to verify their identity even without their physical card.

Additionally, the Deputy National Statistician confirmed PSA will soon be in talks with government agencies and private businesses abroad to establish PhilIDs as proof of identity for transactions.

PhilSys Step 2 counts over 40M registered

More than 40 million Filipinos have completed the Step 2 registration process for acquiring the PhilID under the PhilSys project since the beginning of the pandemic.

The news comes from a statement released by PSA last week, which claimed a total of 40,264,550 individuals would have done their biometric capture as of October 31.

In addition, more than three million physical PhilID cards have been sent door-to-door by the Philippine Post Corporation so far.

The document also reminded applicants that PhilID and PSN are non-transferrable, as well as calling for unbanked PhilSys registrants to create a free bank account with the Land Bank of the Philippines in order to apply for a PSN.

BSP urges banks and non-financial institutions to accept PhilID

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has called once again for banks and non-financial institutions to accept PhilID as a form of ID when opening a bank account or authorizing transactions.

The news was reported by the Manila Bulletin, which mentioned Memorandum No. M-2021-057, issued by the BSP on October 21, and followed by an advisory by PSA.

According to the documents, BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) should accept the PhilID in both physical and mobile formats and without the need for another ID.

Additionally, BSP is currently improving its electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) procedures to improve BSFIs’ customer identification with PhilID.

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  financial services  |  government services  |  identity document  |  identity management  |  national ID  |  PhilID  |  Philippines