National ID System to Start on the 12th of October

Here in the Philippines, we have lots of IDs available. In fact, each office has one!  Some of the most common and the most noticeable ones include:

• Social Security System (SSS) ID
• Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID)
• Philhealth ID
• Pag-IBIG ID
• The Driver’s License (LTO)
• DFA Passport;
• and many more

But with all the different IDs available, most, if not all of them are hard and difficult to obtain. Especially if you don't have a job previously or currently. However, just when our President Rodrigo Duterte decided to have a centralized ID system, many Filipinos were grateful. 

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So, if  you are  looking to get an ID in the future, you will be able to do so because the National ID systems is starting to rollout this year, in fact, the start of the registration is on the 12th of October.

Delays on the Mass Registration

The Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) was supposed to start the mass registration last July. However, due to the pandemic, it was moved multiple times throughout the year. Finally, they were able to decide on a date; and the National ID System start on October 12 will finally become a reality.

Don't get too excited just yet. As per the Assistant Secretary of the PSA Rosalinda Bautista, the registration is not open to everyone just yet. Instead, they will be deploying teams, instead to the 5 million heads under the low-income household list under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

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But What is the National ID?

In case you've been living under a rock, the National ID will be known and considered as the centralized ID system. It'll be the government-issued identification card. What it does is it unifies all the information, which can be used for all transactions in both the public and the private sector.

The main purpose of the National ID is to serve as the singular official identification card of the country. Furthermore, it would also house or interconnect other government-issued IDs in this singular, centralized National ID card.

Registration Process

As we mentioned earlier, the National ID system is to start with the registration on October 12. That being said, how does the agency plan on registering it?

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The PSA will be going to the houses of those prequalified applicants for the ID. Then, they will be given a specific schedule to go to the registration center where their biometrics and other details would be taken. The only time that applicants would be required to go to registration centers would be when it's already time to take the biometrics

Based on the statement said by Ms. Bautista, the PSA will be the ones to proceed to the homes and houses of those who are prequalified. This can speed up the process entirely so that when they need to go to a registration center, the procedure will be faster.

Sila ang pupuntahan namin at uunahin namin silang i-preregistrer o pag capture ng kanilang information para po pagdating nila sa registration center mas mabilis na ang kanilang pagaantay at pila. Maglalagay kami ng schedule.”

In Translation: We will be the ones to go and visit their homes for them to be registered; or for us to capture their information. This is for the time they go to our registration centers, the procedure will be faster and for the queues to be light and short. We will be placing specific schedules for them.

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Proceeding to the Registration Centers

As per the announcement, by the 25th of November, people who have previously been pre-qualified would need to have their biometrics taken at a registration center. On top of that, they would also add four (4) million more people to register.

All in all, ang ipe-preregister namin before the end of the year is 9 million pero 'yung 5 million na household head ay pupunta na sila sa registration centers."

In Translation: All in all, the amount that we would pre-register before the year ends is nine (9) million. However, the five (5) million household heads would need to go to the registration centers.

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By 2012, they plan to have 45 million more people to register; and another 42 at the end of 2022. Both the registration and issuance of the ID is free so everybody would be able to get one.

That being said, the National ID System to start on October 12th will be something , many people would be looking forward to. What do you think of the plan of the PSA to start the National ID System on the 12th of October? Do you think that it's a good plan to have it started even in the middle of the pandemic?