By Judy Quiros | Philippine News Agency
DAVAO CITY – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reminded anew government agencies and private entities that they will be fined as much as P500,000 once they refuse to honor the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card.
Republic Act No. 11055 or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) states that the PhilID or the national ID is a valid proof of identity and must be accepted in all transactions.
In a social media post on Nov. 10, the PSA reiterated that under the PhilSys Act, the PhilID shall serve as the official government-issued identification document in government and private transactions.
“The PhilID Card shall be accepted as sufficient proof identity, without the need to present any other identification documents,” the post read.
The law will penalize refusal to accept, acknowledge and/or recognize the PhilID card with P500,000.
If the violation is committed by a government official or employee, the penalty shall include perpetual absolute disqualification from holding any public office or employment in the government, including any government-owned and controlled corporations and their subsidiaries.
As of Oct. 31, at least 3.1 million PhilID cards have been delivered by the Philippine Postal Corporation while 40,264,550 have completed the registration process, closer to the goal of registering at least 50 million Filipinos this year.
“The PSA salutes all those who contributed to this milestone for the PhilSys Step 2 Registration. As we are nearing the conclusion of another year, we look forward to attaining our goals in registering the general population to PhilSys. Rest assured that the PSA, together with its field offices and partner agencies, are working diligently and in unison despite the pandemic to ensure that more Filipinos can use their PhiIIDs to access various services,” PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa said in a recent statement.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte 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 seeks to boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (PNA) – bny
