MANILA, Philippines — More than 1.2 million Filipinos have so far obtained their national IDs also known as the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card, the National Economic and Development Authority reported Thursday.
On the first day of the budget deliberations for the proposed national budget for 2022, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said that as of August 20, the government has issued a total of 1,230,853 PhilIDs.
“Currently we have issued 1.2 million and our target is at least 50 million Filipinos with the PhilSys registered by the end of 2021,” Chua said.
PhilSys is the government’s central identification platform for Filipino citizens and resident aliens. Meanwhile, the PhilID is the non-transferrable physical ID card, which will be issued upon completing registration.
Chua said that PhilSys is deemed helpful as it can help in the efficient distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to the general public.
It can also help in the more efficient distribution of social and financial aid especially amid the coronavirus pandemic, said Chua.
“The Land Bank of the Philippines is co-locating in PhilSys registration sites with the goal of opening bank accounts for all low-income families by the end of 2021,” Chua said.
“That is our target—100% financial inclusion at the family level by the end of the year,” he added.