INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday directed the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to fast-track the printing of the digital version of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) ID.
In a meeting with PSA officials and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Marcos said the agencies should print out the digital national IDs “as much as we can.”
“Then isunod natin ‘yung physical ID as soon as we can,” the President said, as quoted by the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS).
The OPS said the printing capacity was discussed and issues were raised, including the “late start of the flow of data and the volume of the data.”
For his part, PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa said it continues to work with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in further fast-tracking and boosting the volume of national ID production and printing.
Mapa earlier pointed to the influx of registrants in the PhilSys for the delay in printing national ID cards.
In October, the PSA started implementing the printed digital version of the national ID.
Through the printed ID, registered persons can immediately use the benefits of PhilSys, which includes faster and seamless transactions in accessing financial and social protection services requiring proof of identity, subject to authentication, according to the PSA.