The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Tuesday, Jan. 5, that the Step 2 registration process for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) project will begin in selected provinces early this month.
Step 2 is the registration process which involves the validation of supporting documents and capturing the registrants’ biometric information such as fingerprints, iris scans, and front-facing photographs at the registration centers.
In an advisory, the PSA said it will conduct a gradual and small-scale rollout of the Step 2 PhilSys registration for those individuals who have taken the first step of the registration phase for the PhilSys.
The PSA said it will initially open the registration centers in San Pablo City, Laguna. It added that a limited number of registration centers located in the provinces of Bataan, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, and Rizal are also set to open for the registration.
The PSA said it expand the registration in more provinces by February 2021. It said the initial phase of Step 2 Registration will run from January to April 2021, as it targets to register some 10.5 million Filipinos who have then completed the Step 1 Registration in 2020.
The PSA urged the Step 1 registrants to wait for the announcements from their respective municipalities or barangays related to the Step 2 PhilSys mass registration rollout. In coordination with local government units (LGUS), the PSA said it will inform the Step 1 registrants of their respective schedules for Step 2.
The PSA reminded the registrants to carefully keep the PhilSys transaction slip and prepare the supporting documents to be taken to the selected registration centers for Step 2 of the registration process.
Amid the prevailing health crisis, the PSA has done a house-to-house collection of demographic information of the targeted low-income household heads from 664 cities and municipalities of the 32 identified provinces including Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Albay, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Compostela Valley, Davao Del Norte, Davao Del Sur, Davao Occidental, and Tawi-Tawi.
The PSA said Philippine identification (PhilID) will not replace the existing functional IDs that serve other purposes. It said the PhilID is a foundational ID that serves as a valid proof of identity which would help ease transactions with both government and private sector through easier validation and authentication of identity.
In applying for the PhilID, applicants are advised to present an original copy of one (1) of the following:
- PSA-issued Certificate of Live Birth together with one government-issued identification document bearing the full name, front-facing photograph, and signature or thumb mark;
- Philippine Passport issued by the DFA;
- Unified Multi-Purpose Identification (UMID) Card issued by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and Social Security System (SSS); or
- Valid LTO-issued Student’s License Permit or Non-Professional/Professional Driver’s License
The full list of accepted documentary requirements can be found at the back of the PhilSys Registration Form. Applicants without documentation may be registered through the Introducer-Based Registration.
The PSA said the PhilID for Filipinos has no expiration date, while the PhilID issued to resident aliens will only be valid for one year.
Acquiring PhilID is free of charge for the initial issuance for Filipinos, it said. The PSA said the fee shall only apply for the replacement of the PhilID due to damage or loss.
Holders of certificate of indigency, meanwhile, are exempted from the replacement fee, as long as they present this certificate.
The government earlier said it will adopt a privacy-protective system for data protection and sufficient safeguards will be in place to ensure the safety, security, and data privacy of the registry information.
“The PSA takes seriously the responsibility of ensuring the privacy, security, and integrity of registered persons’ data,” it said.
The PSA said it will strictly comply with the Data Privacy Act. “The PSA has been working closely with the National Privacy Commission (NPC), the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), and the National Security Council regarding the architecture and processes of the PhilSys, including to identify and mitigate privacy and cybersecurity risks,” it said.
“The PhilSys design adopts Privacy-by-Design principles wherein privacy is incorporated into its technologies by default and from the start,” it added.
The PSA earlier assured that the only person who can provide data stored in the PhiSys registry remains to be the owner of the data. “For example, the PhilSys collects and stores minimal data and the PhilSys Number (PSN) is fully randomized, not revealing any information about the person such as their date of birth,” it said.
Signed into law in August 2018, Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System Act aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.
The national ID shall be a valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrollment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts. It also expected to boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. — Lade Jean Kabagani (PNA)
