Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the principal author of Republic Act No. 11055 or also known as the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act, has reiterated on Sunday that the action of acquiring a national ID is deemed mandatory — not voluntary, correcting the statement of Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
This information was disclosed including that the acquisition of a national ID is only done so through voluntary means. Republic Act No. 11055 or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act pushes to validate the proof of identity for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens alike in order to simplify public and private transactions.
The Surigao del Norte representative claimed that the objective of RA No. 11055 is the mandatory identification of all citizens.
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Calling "Voluntary" Out
Furthermore, Barbers questioned the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for calling the acquisition as voluntary when in fact having a national ID is mandatory.
Ito ay hindi voluntary, kundi ito po ay mandatory. Nagtataka nga po ako kung bakit ang taga Philippine Statistics Authority, sinasabi na ito ay voluntary, hindi po ito voluntary. Ito po ay isang mandatory na kung saan ang lahat ng Pilipino ay magkakaron ng tinatawag na PhilSys ID."
In Translation: Getting or acquiring a national ID is mandatory, not voluntary. It confuses me as to why the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) regards it as such when it clearly and actually is not. A national ID is a mandatory act in which all Filipino citizens will be given what we call the PhilSys ID.
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Barbers and the PSA
The political feud started due to a media interview last Oct. 1, in which the PSA Assistant Secretary Rosalinda Bautista stated that all Filipino citizens, including resident aliens, have the autonomy to decide whether they would want to apply for the national ID or not while highly encouraging the public to secure their national ID.
Barbers in turn slammed the PSA. He emphasized that upon the fact that RA 11055, which was enacted on Aug. 6, 2018, clearly provides that establishment of the PhilSys or a single identification system for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens. One year starting from the effectivity of the law, all Filipino citizens as well as resident aliens must register personally with authorized centers.
PSN Unique Number
Upon birth or registration, a randomly generated PhilSys number (PSN) has already been assigned to citizens or resident aliens. As such, all PSN numbers of all the registered persons – including the registered records and record history – will be secured in the PhilSys Registry, and that individual’s record in the PhilSys shall be considered as an official and sufficient proof of identity.
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Pag nagapply ng iyong ID, itong number na naasign sa yo, ‘yan ang magiging ID number hanggang dulo ng iyong buhay."
In Translation: Once the ID has been applied, the number in which you have been assigned will be your ID number for the duration of your lifetime.
Through the mandatory national ID, a person will be able to participate in business transactions; whether with the government or private agencies and offices since the national ID is considered a strict and a solid proof of identity.
The PSA Chief and National Statistician, Claire Dennis Mapa made the announcmenet that the registration for the national ID system is expected to start on Oct. 12.
Pre-Registration for the National ID
The pre-registration for the Philippine National Identification System (PhilSys) will begin in October despite the current health crisis for the easier distribution of government assistance, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reported.
Jonathan Malaya, the Spokesman of the DILG said that the rollout will definitely be pushed. Moreover, all the statistics and data will be accurate; indeed, it'll be done and pursued on the 5th of October.
In our last Philsys meeting, it was mentioned we will proceed to roll out of our pre-registration this first week of October. Tuloy tuloy na ito until we are able to initially register to 5 million pre-registrants and 5 million registrants at the end of the year."
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In Translation: This will continue until we are able to initially register up to 5 million pre-registrants and 5 million registrants at the end of the year.
In 2018, President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11055, or the PhilSys Act, which establishes a single national identification system. The national ID will contain the personal details of a citizen, such as full name, facial image, gender, date of birth, blood type and home address.
What do you think about the national ID being mandatory? Do you agree with the sentiment or not?
Strongly agree of making it mandatory so that no more 1 person with 5 different names.. 😅
Where and how to get nat id