PSA supports PBBM’s call to collaborate with the private sector for the national ID system

Date of Release: 17 January 2023
Reference No. 2023-021

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) welcomes President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to tap the private sector in the digitalization of the national ID system, particularly its use cases, for seamless transactions across government agencies and private entities.

“Given the 75.8 million Filipinos who have already registered to PhilSys, we are eager to collaborate with the private sector to further accelerate our progress in expanding our use cases. We want our registrants to immediately reap and enjoy the benefits of PhilSys, as a digital ID system,” said PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.

As of 13 January 2023, around 29 million PhilIDs were printed and more than 15.5 million ePhilIDs were issued.

As part of the PSA’s efforts to fast-track the issuance of ePhilIDs, the agency initiated a house-to-house and plaza-type distribution strategy and pilot implemented a website allowing registered persons to download a PDF copy of their ePhilID on their mobile devices.

“PhilSys is a foundational, digital ID system, so its functionality is geared towards digital use – whether as a card, printed on paper, or PDF file. This ensures an inclusive national ID system that can be used across government agencies and private entities for more efficient delivery of services for Filipinos. This is a move closer to realizing the vision of a Makabagong Pilipinas,” said Usec. Mapa.

Part of the PhilSys API-enabled services PSA intends to offer is the electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) where registered individuals may consent to share their data from the PhilSys Registry to the relying party (e.g., government agencies with frontline services, banks, remittance centers, and others) after a successful authentication for more efficient and secure transactions.