Philippines ramps up PhilID issuance efforts as over 50M physical, digital cards issued

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) says its objective to speed up the issuance of ID cards to enable citizens enjoy the benefits of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) has led to a total of 50,262,059 physical and national digital ID cards known as PhilIDs being produced and issued so far.

Of this number, 30,558,332 are physical cards and 19,703,727 are the digital printable version, according to a news release from the PSA. These are figures as of 31 January and 2 February, respectively.

“The PSA, together with its field offices and partner agencies, implemented strategies to provide more Filipinos with the national ID to enable immediate utilization of PhilSys benefits,” says PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, national statistician and civil registrar general.

“This landmark milestone is a testament that our initiatives are effective.”

The PSA also assures that it is continuing its partnership with the Philippine Central Bank and the Philippine Postal Corporation order to ensure accelerated production and distribution of the cards across the nation.

The body also underscored the importance of the digital PhilID which is meant to allow registered persons enjoy the benefits of the digital ID while waiting for their physical cards to be printed.

With regard to the downloadable version of the digital PhilID, the PSA said there were 440,784 downloads as of 2 February.

“The PhilID and ePhilID are now being used by Filipinos as valid proof of identity to claim remittances, open bank accounts, apply for employment, and receive social and welfare benefits,” says Mapa.

“We will continue turning our strategies into actions that will speed up national ID issuance and scale up PhilSys-enabled services. We assure that all registered persons will receive a PhilID printed by the BSP, even if they claim or download their ePhilIDs.”

The Philippines recently started a SIM card registration process with calls from authorities for SIM cards to be linked to the PhilID.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  ID cards  |  identity management  |  national ID  |  Philippines  |  Philippines Statistics Authority