CLARK FREEPORT – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Central Luzon has started registering individuals as the first step for the national ID system.
During the “Balitaan” media forum organized by the Capampangan in Media, Inc. at the Bale Balita here on Thursday, PSA Region 3 director Edgardo Pare said the registration has started 10 days ago with the names submitted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Pare said the general public will have to wait until early next year to start registering for the national ID system.
He said they have begun registering only the names on the list given by the DSWD who will be the first to be given national IDs.
“We get demographic information from them and encode them in the tablet and give them appointment when they will go to the registration center,” Pare said.
“Getting the demographic information and registration should be simultaneous but because of the pandemic, we have to limit the stay of the people Inside the registration centers where get their biometrics iris scans, finger prints and pictures because if we allow for the simultaneous activities, they will have to stay for about 25 to 30 minutes inside the centers,” he explained.
“Now, we get the demographic info and give them appointment for registration at a later date,” he added.
Pare said every municipality has its own registration center: “We coordinated with each municipality and requested some space usually in the first floor of the building so that the persons with disabilities (PWDs) and the senior citizens will not have a hard time accessing it.”
“Many of the LGUs gave us space in the municipal hall although there are some registration centers in the barangays. We just move the registration kits. Included in the kits are laptops, lights, scanners and other materials and the kit usually cost around P350,000,” headded, noting that each municipality will have about four or five registration kits.
Pare explained that step one will be the pre-registration. PSA will have 1,100 personnel in Region 3. In the registration itself where PSA will get the biometrics, another 3,000 will be hired. The additional personnel will be hired as job orders or contractual workers and their contracts will last for three years.
“We will register 110 million more or less but these donot include those who are 5 years old and below. We will give them only numbers but we will not get their biometrics and pictures,” Pare explained.
“When they reach more than 5 years old, that is the only time they will be pictured and when they reach 15 years old, their biometrics will be collected,” Pare explained.
He said in Central Luzon about 11 million will be registered.
Pare said they will start on Nov. 25 giving appointment schedules to those being listed now.
Pare clarified that there will also be systems integration to avoid duplication and to sort out those that have registered multiple times which is not allowed. They will have to be validated, he added.
Fifteen days after registration, the registrant will be issued his ID. The time should be shortened if he is unique and the registration should last for only 15 minutes.
Pare said the implementation of RA 11055 is for five years but two years have already passed for the procurement and the preparation of implementing rules and regulations.
The national ID system or RA 11055 has a budget of P30 billion.
Meanwhile, Pare said the PSA regional center processes about 7,000 documents per day before the pandemic but is now down to only 2,000 per day.
