Cops to help secure national ID registration

October 11, 2020

The Philippine National Police (PNP) will help secure the National ID System registration, which will start in 32 provinces on October 12, according to the Joint Task Force COVID Shield on Sunday.

Police Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, JTF commander, said PNP chief General Camilo Cascolan has ordered the police commanders to coordinate with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Local Government Units (LGUs), where the interview and data-gathering will be held.

He said the involvement of the police in the national registration is essential in securing both the enumerators and supervisors who were hired to conduct house-to-house visit.

“Police personnel on the ground should not only ensure the security of those hired by the government to collect data but also to make sure that the minimum health safety standard protocols are properly observed during the entire process of data-gathering,” he said.

The PSA has hired about 5,000 people to interview and collect data from the target households in 32 provinces.

According to the PSA, data-gathering is just the first of the three-part process — the other two are the presence of the people to the designated centers for the biometrics and the last process will be the issuance of the national ID.

The first wave of registration will be held in Ilocos Sur, Cagayan, Isabela, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Tarlac, Bulacan, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Sur, Albay, Masbate, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Compostela Valley and Tawi-Tawi.

The registration for Metro Manila residents and other areas will start next year.

Eleazar said the JTF COVID Shield and the PNP would also coordinate with the LGUs to facilitate all the three steps for the National ID system.

“This entire process is not an easy task especially that there is still a threat of coronavirus infection. We will extend all the assistance that we could provide to make it easier and safe both for PSA personnel and the local residents,” he said.

The national government is targeting to register 92 million Filipinos in the National ID System by June 2022.

Signed into law in 2018, the National ID System, or the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) aims to provide each Filipino a unique number and an ID card in a move to make it easier for Filipinos, particularly the poor, to have access to the banking system and other services.

Eleazar emphasized the importance of the National ID System in this time of pandemic as it could have helped in facilitating the easy distribution of Social Amelioration Program (SAP) and other government programs and projects especially for the poor. Ella Dionisio/DMS