National ID set for pilot testing starting September 2, 2019 for 10,000 individuals

The pilot testing for the National Identification System will kick start in September, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

According to NEDA Secretary Ernesto Pernia, the agency is expecting to register some 10,000 individuals for the pilot tests which will run from September 2 to December this year.

Pernia said once the registration of the national ID system is perfected, they will then increase the number of registrants.

“Mga 10,000 lang muna kasi ano ‘yan eh trial so we still have to fine-tune the process,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) chief and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said on the sidelines of the 3rd Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) Forum in Manila on Tuesday.

“Once it’s perfected we can already ramp-up the registrants,” Pernia said.

He estimated that 107 million Filipinos, including those working overseas and foreigners who are residents in the Philippines, would be covered by the national ID system.

The official said they plan to ramp up registration to 50 million people each year starting from next year until all Filipinos, including overseas workers, are registered before the end of the term of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Republic Act 11055 or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys Act), signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in August last year, seeks to interconnect all government IDs in a single national identification system.

Known as the Phil-ID, it will contain the card holder’s unique PhilSys number, full name as well as facial image, sex, date of birth, blood type, and address. It will also contain the cardholder’s biometric information and iris scan for added security.

The Philippine Statistics Authority, National Privacy Commission, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the multi-agency PhilSystem Policy and Coordinating Council will work together to address all the privacy concerns regarding the ID’s implementation.

Source: UNTV and CNN Philippines