DAVAO CITY – As thousands of Philippine Identification (PhilID) cards are ready for delivery, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reminded establishments to honor the IDs or they will be violating the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act.
Establishments that refuse to accept the PhilID as valid proof of identity will be subject to a fine of an appropriate amount in compliance with Section 19 of Republic Act No. 11055, the PSA reminded.
Section 12 of the PhilSys Act states that the PhilID is an official government-issued ID that can be used in transactions requiring proof of identity or proper identification.
PhilID can be used to open a bank account, execute money transfer and other financial services, in applying for jobs, and obtaining government documents.
The PSA said 103,935 PhilIDs are already with official courier partner PHLPost, received from printer Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, as of May 15, 2021.
Step 1 (demographic information) registrants have reached 1,052,861 as of May 19.
Transaction slip, any valid document needed to claim PhilID
Individuals who completed Step 3 or the final stage for registration of the National ID are advised to prepare their transaction slip and supporting documents and present them to the PHLPost to be able to claim their PhilID.
In an advisory posted on its Facebook on May 14, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said PHLPost will deliver the PhilID of the registrants to their chosen mailing address for free.
“Just prepare your transaction slip and supporting documents for PhilID acceptance,” PSA’s advisory reads.
PSA added that PHLPost will attempt to deliver the PhilID to the holder’s address thrice. The PhilID can be claimed at the Post Office should the holder fail to receive the card at the given address.
“if it is not received by the registrar or authorized representative, PhilID will remain in the designated Post Office where it can be claimed within 30 calendar days. Only show the transaction slip and valid ID or barangay certificate,” PSA advised.
PSA said since the PhilID is free, it urged the registrants to report to PSA if they are asked to pay for the PhilID delivery.
“There is no charge for any transaction for PhilSys. Inform PSA immediately if you have any information about this. You can message our Facebook page, email info@philsys.gov.ph or call PhilSys hotline 1388,” the agency said.
The third and final step of PhilSys registration will involve the issuance of the PhilSys Number (PSN) and the physical ID or the PhilID.
Deliveries ongoing
PHLPost has started delivering PhilIDs to registrants with over 900 PhilIDs printed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The PhilID cards are placed in an envelope with a letter that contains the PhilSys Number (PSN) and the PhilSys Card Number (PCN).
PSA advised the PhilID holders to safekeep the letter and use the PCN found in the PhilID when transacting with government and private entities.
National Economic Development Authority Secretary Karl Chua reported to President Rodrigo Duterte during a recent Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases meeting that of 6.4 million Step 2 registrants as of May 3, a total of 2.2 million submitted their documents required for the opening of a bank account with Land Bank of the Philippines.
Out of the 2.2 million, 806,000 successfully opened accounts, with those from low-income families now with access to government assistance and credit lines from the private sector.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act No. 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 and a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrollment in schools, and opening of bank accounts.
It will also boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (PNA) –jlo
