Philippines digital ID proving vital for social protection

The Philippines national digital ID (PhilID) is fulfilling its social protection function as over one million poor citizens were recently authenticated using the credential for a government cash support programme. This comes as more than 50 million persons in the country are said to have received their physical ID cards.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in an announcement that as of May 8, a total of 1,010,464 beneficiaries were authenticated using their national ID for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) – a government scheme that provides conditional cash grants to extremely poor Filipinos as part of a national poverty reduction strategy.

Per the PSA, beneficiaries undergo fingerprint verification during family development sessions which are obligatory for all families benefiting from the 4Ps.

“Authenticating more than one million 4Ps beneficiaries demonstrates how the National ID can help make the delivery of services more targeted and efficient, especially for the vulnerable sector,” said Claire Dennis S. Mapa, PSA undersecretary, national statistician and civil registrar general.

Mapa expressed gratitude to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for its support in their efforts to “prioritize the use cases of the National ID for social protection program beneficiaries.”

Meanwhile, 12,728 4Ps beneficiaries are said to have successfully undergone biometric identification in Oriental Mindoro during one social development session.

The information was unveiled May 15 during a press conference, according to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). It is part of broader efforts to have all 4Ps beneficiaries registered for the national digital ID so that they can have easy access to important services.

50.8 million physical cards distributed

As of last month, authorities said more than 50 million citizens had already collected their national ID cards. Mapa praised the development as a welcome one which allows the ID authority to continue to promote “its use and acceptance among national government agencies and relying parties.”

“This is a significant milestone in the implementation of the National ID system. It is our goal that the National ID will be on top of every Filipino’s mind to be used in their transactions requiring proof of identity or age,” added Mapa.

With regards to the printed and downloadable versions of the ID, the PSA says 45.5 million and 1.3 million copies, respectively, have been issued, as of May 3.  In totality, over 80 million persons have registered for the national ID.

The PSA also announced recently that the correction of demographic information on the ID cards is not possible at this time, and that full information will be disclosed on that possibility in due course, as reported by Manila Bulletin.

Banking group accepts paper-based ID for customer services

Privately owned bank, the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC), has made it possible for customers with paper-based national IDs to enjoy continuous services.

Through the RCBC DiskarTech mobile application which accepts different kinds of identification documents, customers can have access to a wide array of services including financial inclusion services, The Manila Times reports.

The move by the RCBC is said to be extremely useful for citizens living in rural communities who are often cut off from financial inclusion programs.

“RCBC remains dedicated to providing more options for Filipinos to engage in the formal banking sector. Previously, the lack of IDs made it impossible for millions to open a basic deposit account,” an official of the bank is quoted as saying.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  financial inclusion  |  PhilID  |  Philippines  |  social protection