PSA statistical specialist Richard Guevarra. Photo by Ernie Esconde
PILAR, Bataan – The Philippine Statistics Authority provincial office here on Thursday announced that registration for the national identification or Philippine Identification System (Philsys) are ongoing in the province except for two centers due to the threat of the coronavirus disease.
PSA statistical specialist Richard Guevarra said that 10 of the 12 registration centers in the towns of Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Orani, Samal, Abucay, Pilar, Orion, Limay, Mariveles and Morong are open to receive registrants under Step 2.
He said that temporarily closed are the Philsys registration centers in Bagac starting March 24, and Balanga City beginning April 15, 2021.
Guevarra explained that Step 2 registration in Bagac was temporarily shelved because of the request of municipal Mayor Ramil del Rosario due to the spike in the number of Covid–19 cases in the mountain town.
The registration center in Bagac is located at the mezzanine floor of the municipal hall and the local government unit has passed an ordinance to temporary stop the operation not because there was a positive case among the workers in the center but because of the rise in Covid-19 cases in the municipality, he clarified.
“Again ang clarification ay walang infection incident mismo sa center but ang caution ng municipality ng Bagac ay huwag munang mag-social gathering until there is a zero case,” Guevarra said.
In the case of Balanga City, he said that there was a report of exposure of some center workers. Although tests showed they were negative of the virus, in accordance with protocols they have to undergo quarantine for 14 days.
Guevarra said the center in Balanga is expected to resume operation on April 29.
He said that they respect the decision of the local government units to temporarily close the center for reason of the pandemic.
To compensate for the time lost, Guevarra said that PSA-Bataan chief Francisco Corpuz ordered the transfer of the registration kits and equipment to other centers. He said that face-to-face registration continues in the centers in 10 towns.
He said that Step 1 undertaken in Bataan from October to December 2020 has 125,000 registrants that they expected to be listed under Step 2 until May, 2021. Guevarra said that as of Wednesday, there were 89,000 or about 70 percent who have finished registering for Step 2.
At the registration center in the barangay hall of Lati in Orion, registration was in full swing.
Philsys registration supervisor Sharmaine Hernandez said the flow of registrants was good and safety protocols were followed. “To maintain social distancing, ang dating ng mga tao ay by batch at sa isang oras ay 30 lang ang aming ina-accommodate para hindi magsisksikan,” she said.
Lati barangay chairman Jesselton Manaid said registration was going on smoothly and will continue until June 2021 to accommodate registrants from 23 barangays in Orion. He said that Step 2 registration started in Orion last March 16, 2021.
“Per barangay ang patawag ng PSA at sinusunod naman ng mga tao ang schedule at protocol tulad ng social distancing at pagsusuot ng face mask at face shield,” the punong barangay said.
“Lahat naman tayo ay mabibigyan ng national ID dahil iyan ay talagang utos ng national government. Antay-antay lang po at base naman sa kanilang sinusunod na sistema halos lahat naman ay mabibigyan din,” Manaid said.
Guevarra said that under the Step 2 registration, registrants were given dates of appointment sent by text messages.
“Kung hindi tayo naka–appointment pa ay huwag muna pumunta sa registration center because may pandemic pa at with the Covid-19 ay mas nire–restrain natin ang number of people. Please cooperate with the limitations of our manpower para paghiwa-hiwalayin kayo to observe safety protocols,” Guevarra appealed.
PSA has concluded its Step 1 process in Bataan that involves the collection of demographic information of the registrants. It is now on Step 2, capturing biometric information such as fingerprints, iris scan and front-facing photograph. Step 3, distribution of ID, follows.
Guevarra said Bataan is one of the 32 provinces in the country where registration for the national ID started.
