Hasten issuance of PhilSys cards, Poe urges gov’t

Graphic representation of the national ID. INQUIRER.net

Sen. Grace Poe on Thursday said the government must address the delays in the printing and delivery of the national Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) cards.

“The long wait of six months to over a year to get the ID is unjustifiable,” Poe, chair of the Senate public services committee, said in a statement.

“With more than half of the population registered, the Filipinos have given the program a chance. It’s high time that the government does its share by delivering the national ID to our citizens without further delay,” said the senator, who was reelected in 2019 and will remain in the Senate until 2025.

The senator also urged the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to ensure the accuracy of the data in the national ID and “open avenues for modifications if needed.”

She pointed out that the national ID could have been used to fast-track the distribution of cash aid, fuel vouchers, health benefits and other basic services for Filipinos during the pandemic.

“The streamlined information in one card would have made public and private transactions less cumbersome and trying,” she said. In December 2021, the PSA said 50.01 million Filipinos have signed up for their PhilSys cards, but as of March, the PSA said they had delivered only 8.1 million cards.

A controversial program that was in the legislative mill for several years, the national IDsystem was finally approved by Congress under Republic Act No. 11055, or Philippine Identification System Act, and was signed into law in August 2018.

The PhilSys card was meant to be valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrolment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts.

It will also boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present their PhilSys card in transactions.