PSA: Biometrics capture for national ID now ongoing in 12 provinces

MANILA, Philippines—The taking of photos, fingerprints, irises, or biometrics, of national ID applicants has expanded to 12 provinces after January’s pilot run in Laguna province, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

In a statement, the PSA said the second of three steps to register for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) started this month in Bataan, Batangas, Cavite, Rizal and Zambales provinces.

In the Visayas, registration facilities already opened for step two in the provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Iloilo, Leyte, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.

As of Feb. 3, 15,873 applicants were processed for biometrics—facial images, fingerprints and irises, the PSA said.

This second registration step will be done on a “gradual, small-scale basis” to observe physical distancing rules during biometrics capture because the process involved touching equipment.

Applicants are notified by the PSA via text message of their registration schedules and informed of the documents they need to submit.

“The PSA is able to manage the number of persons at registration centers and implement necessary health protocols, such as social distancing, because registrants were scheduled to visit by batches,” it said.

The PSA also set up desks at state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) offices so heads of low-income households can open bank accounts and be part of the banked population.

It said that as of Feb. 1, 3,623 PhilSys applicants opened accounts through the PSA’s arrangement with Landbank.

The first PhilSys registration step, which entailed collection of demographic data late in 2020, had 10.5 million applicants across 32 pilot provinces where most of the poorest Filipinos lived and had fewer COVID-19 cases.

In January, the PSA began step one of national ID registration in all other provinces as well as Metro Manila.

TSB