Philippines continues successful national ID, digital transformation programs

The Philippines is forging ahead with digital transformation initiatives mandated by its “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act.” The nation is encouraging citizens to register for and generate their national digital identity cards for use on their mobile phones. Inclusivity initiatives are expanding to children under five and to recipients of the nation’s cash transfer program for its poorest households. Government services are on the path to full digitization, as the national digital identity scheme picks up steam through the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys); the country is on track to soon crest 80 percent registration for the national ID among its populace.

Philippines approaching 90 million national ID registrants

As of July 5, 2024, 88,570,977 Filipinos have registered through the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for a national ID. A total of 52,363,018 physical cards have been delivered.

Manila Bulletin lays out the process for obtaining the digital ID cards, which can be done through the PSA’s website, or the eGov PH app. It involves scanning the front and back of a physical card containing specific personal information.

To complement the digital ID and make it usable in establishments such as banks and bars as valid proof of identity, the PSA has developed a National ID Check on its website for authentication. The free service allows users to verify and authenticate a national digital ID by scanning its QR code.

The PSA says for now, it is best used to authenticate low-risk transactions. Nonetheless, it calls the project “a significant step towards the digitalization of processes in the country by promoting efficiency, security, and transparency in transactions across various sectors.”

The PSA also offers PhilSys Check as an offline identity authentication tool. Relying parties can onboard with the PSA through an application to the National ID Authentication Services.

Children 1-4 sign up for national ID with friendly panda as guide

A release from the PSA notes its ongoing strategy to register children ages 1 to 4 years old to the national ID.

PSA Undersecretary, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis S. Mapa says the push to register children is indicative of its efforts to make the national ID inclusive, pointing to its recent Rehistro Bulilit initiative.

Launched at Baras-Pinugay Phase 2 National High School in Barangay Pinugay in Baras, Rizal, Rehistro Bulilit is designed to help make kids feel comfortable with registration. A panda mascot, kids’ videos and a snappy tagline – “Makabagong Pilipinas” or “modern Philippines” –  helped lighten the mood as 46 children aged 1 to 4 were successfully signed up for the national ID scheme and given a unique numerical identifier.

Registrants were required to enrol face biometrics via a photograph, but other biometric identifiers such as fingerprints and iris biometrics will be captured once they turn five.

Social welfare recipients authenticate with PSA identity services

Among institutions already using the PSA’s ID authentication services is the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), a national poverty reduction strategy and “human capital investment program” that provides conditional cash transfers to households facing extreme poverty.

Since February, the service has been available at Family Development Sessions (FDS) across the nation, including remote areas. To date, the initiative has authenticated over 2 million 4Ps beneficiaries. Per the DSWD, FDS are “neighborhood-based family psycho-educational sessions” to teach 4Ps grantees “skills and knowledge in responding to their parental roles and responsibilities, particularly on health and nutrition, education and psychosocial needs of children; promotion of positive family values; and strengthening marital relationships.”

Grantees submit fingerprint biometrics during FDS, which are thereafter used for identity verification and to record attendance. FDS is a condition for access to 4Ps, which, according to the World Bank, “aims to break the cycle of poverty by keeping children aged 0-18 healthy and in school, so they can have a better future.”

SunStar quotes Undersecretary Mapa, who says that “by making authentication more convenient and accessible to 4Ps beneficiaries, we ensure reliable identity verification and targeted delivery of benefits.”

National ID system key to govt digital transformation: Marcos

The Philippines is considering making registration with Philsys for a national ID mandatory for access to government subsidies. Its overall push of the national ID program has yielded fruit, in that more than 78 percent of the population has registered.

A release from the PSA quotes Mapa, who says “we will ensure that every Filipino shall be part of the Makabagong Pilipinas through PhilSys.”

“We look forward to working with more government agencies and private institutions that will champion easier and faster transactions by accepting the PhilID and ePhilID.”

During a State of the Nation Address last July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pledged to fast-track digitization of public services, and said “the National ID System will be at the core of this digitally transformed network.”

This has already begun in earnest. The government-run Philippines News Agency says the eGovPH mobile app now offers online services for 24 different government agencies. In June, the country made services for pensioners and other users of insurance services accessible through the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) using digital ID on their smartphones through the GSIS Touch mobile application. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and PhilHealth have launched a platform to streamline healthcare processes; further digitization of the PhilHealth system is planned, including the establishment of a National Health Data Repository (NHDR).

The goal is to have every government service digitized and made available via mobile. Officials say the full transition could come slowly, but that they are betting on their motto, underlining the convenience of going digital: “don’t get in line, get online.”

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  children  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  national ID  |  PhilID  |  Philippines  |  Philippines Statistics Authority  |  social protection