MORE than 1,000 residents of Mandaue City are close to obtaining the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) ID.
The PhilSys ID is the official national identity card for Filipino citizens worldwide and foreign permanent residents in the Philippines.
According to Jeson Abejuela, registration officer of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there are three steps to PhilSys registration:
First is the collection of demographic data and appointment-setting for Step 2. (Demographic data includes name, gender, birth date, birthplace, blood type, address, if Filipino citizen or resident alien, and other optional information such as marital status, cellphone number and email address.)
Second is the validation of supporting documents and capture of biometric information (eg. fingerprints, iris scans, front-facing photograph).
Third is the issuance of the PhilSys Number and the PhilID (physical card).
Residents who have completed the first step are instructed to go the second floor of the Mandaue City Public Market in Barangay Centro for the validation of their documents and the capture of their biometric information.
Abejuela said they will prioritize those who were scheduled in November 2020 yet.
The PSA assigned eight registration operators. Each operator targets to serve 45 clients per day.
Abejuela said the PhilSys ID is necessary since most government or private transactions require a valid ID as proof of identity.
He said the government is aware that there are some Filipinos, particularly indigents, who do not possess a valid ID.
After completing the second step, Abejuela said the PSA’s partner courier will deliver the ID to their houses.
Aside from PhilSys ID, the PSA also partnered with Landbank to open a bank account for the residents, most of whom do not have one or have a hard time getting one.
A bank account is important in case the government wants to wire financial assistance.
Since the PSA caters to many registrants daily at the public market, Abejuela said they still make sure minimum health guidelines are observed.
He said they check the registrants’ body temperature, make them sanitize their hands and fill up a form for contact tracing purposes, among others. (KFD)