Philippines govt expedites digital IDs

The government of Philippines is hoping to expedite the issuance of digital identity cards to nationals with the Department of Justice urging the president of the country to transfer certain functions from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The Philippine Statistics Authority is in charge of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) which issues PhilIDs. The PSA should grant the DICT access to the data needed for producing digital PhilSys IDs, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said in a DOJ legal opinion dated May 16.

The DOJ’s call to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. comes after the president ordered the DICT and the PSA to accelerate the roll-out of digital national IDs in April. Justice Secretary Remulla said that the president has the power to reorganize the offices and agencies in the executive department, the Manila Standard reports.

“To fully realize the objectives of the PhilSys Act, there is a necessity to reorganize the Executive Department, by transferring some of the functions of the PSA under the PhilSys Act to the DICT, for purposes of rolling-out the digital PhilSys ID,” says DOJ’s Remulla.

Introduced in 2018, the Philippine Identification System Act (PhilSys) aims to provide a single digital ID system for transactions and access to social services. May data from PhilSys shows that the country has completed 78.5 million registrations with demographic and biometric data, around 85 percent of the 92-million target. A combined total of 61.54 million physical and digital ID cards, known as ePhilIDs, has been delivered so far.

In March, the Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) revised its digital Know Your Customer (KYC) rules making the PhilID as one of the digital ID credentials required for customer onboarding.

The PSA hired Madras Security Printers Private Limited in a joint venture with Mega Data Corporation as Systems Integrator for Supply, Delivery, Installation, and Maintenance of PhilSys, according to the report.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  national ID  |  PhilID  |  Philippines  |  Philippines Statistics Authority