Since the implementation of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) began, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has made notable progress, from registration to ID printing and delivery, as well as stepping closer to the program’s objective of strengthening financial inclusion and social protection in the country.

As of 10 March 2023, more than 77.3 million Filipinos have successfully registered to PhilSys and over 25.9 million PhilIDs have been delivered.

As more Filipinos receive their PhilIDs, the PSA has begun replacing PhilIDs with peeled off photos. This will soon be fully implemented, along with the updating of demographic information.

The PSA has also implemented the ePhilID, a proactive strategy to allow individuals to immediately enjoy the benefits of being PhilSys-registered. As of 10 March 2023, more than 26.3 million Filipinos have claimed their ePhilIDs at registration centers and through plaza-type and house-to-house distribution to reach far-flung areas. This includes 846,450 Filipinos who downloaded their ePhilIDs on their mobile device.

PhilSys also emphasizes inclusive coverage and one of its goals is to help strengthen financial inclusion. To achieve this, PSA partnered with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) to roll out the colocation strategy that allowed PhilSys-registered individuals to open transaction accounts conveniently at PhilSys registration centers. With this opportunity, unbanked adult Filipinos are provided with a formal access to financial services by issuing a banking card that requires no initial deposit and no maintaining balance.

This strategy allowed 8.4 million Filipinos to be onboarded to financial inclusion – 5.8 million of whom were able to open their first transaction accounts, which were used in 108,473 recorded transactions amounting to PhP275.8 million.

PhilSys is also meant to drive social protection, especially for vulnerable groups such as the poor, people living in Geographically-Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA), indigenous people (IP), and persons with disabilities (PWDs).

Now, the PSA is gearing up to use the PhilSys registry to make it easier to verify the identity of potential social protection program beneficiaries in the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Listahanan.

Also known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), Listahanan is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide. Currently, it includes 30.5 million poor individuals. Using the PhilSys registry for identity verification will help eliminate duplicates or ghost beneficiaries, ensuring targeted delivery of benefits to rightful recipients.

“These milestones reflect all the efforts exerted for PhilSys and registered persons,” said PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General. “As we further implement the country’s national identification system, the public can look forward to more initiatives from the PSA and its partner agencies.”

Quick Links:

• Website: https://philsys.gov.ph
• Facebook page: https://facebook.com/PSAPhilSysOfficial
• ePhilID appointment: https://appt.philsys.gov.ph
• PhilID/ePhilID authentication: https://verify.philsys.gov.ph

- PhilSys Registry Office