President Duterte gives a thumbs up after checking one of the printed national ID cards following his submission in the registration process for the National Identification System administered by the Philippine Statistics Authority at the Malacañang Palace on Thursday, January 21, 2021. ROBINSON NIÑAL/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has registered himself on the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), official photos from Malacañang revealed.
Photos sent to reporters late Thursday showed Duterte having his biometric information being taken by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) personnel for the national ID.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Duterte’s long-time aide Senator Bong Go were also seen having themselves registered into the PhilSys.
LOOK: President Rodrigo Duterte has his biometric information taken as he underwent the registration process for the National ID System, at the Malacañang Palace on Thursday. 📷 PCOO pic.twitter.com/DnV8CUnXOx
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) January 22, 2021
Duterte last month approved the P3.52-billion additional budget for the implementation of the national ID system for 2021. The additional funds will be used to register 20 million more individuals to the PhilSys this year, on top of the 50 million target registration.
Signed by Duterte in August 2018, the PhilSys Act or Republic Act No. 11055 seeks to harmonize and integrate several government IDs by establishing a single national identification system for all citizens and resident aliens through the collection of basic personal information and biometric data.
The pre-registration process for the national ID system started only last October, covering around five million Filipinos from 32 provinces.
The delay in the implementation of the national ID system was highlighted during the distribution of the government’s emergency cash subsidies amid the Covid-19 pandemic which was marred with delays due to concerns on security, the reconciliation of lists of beneficiaries, and logistical challenges.
READ: National ID system could have made cash aid distribution faster – Duterte