Malacañang on Monday assured that the passage of the National ID System will help the government administer the unconditional cash transfer because it would be easier now to determine which of the people are really the beneficiaries.
In a press briefing in Malacañang, Finance Assistant Secretary Paola Alvarez said that without proper identification, the government could not easily identify and reach poor families in the rural areas to implement the conditional and unconditional cash transfers.
“Families living the provinces, particularly those in the far-flung rural areas, not all of them have IDs and it would be difficult to determine who are really covered by the conditional and unconditional cash transfers,” she said.
The Palace said that the implementation of the national identification system will be the key to ensure that every Filipino and resident can have access to public services and development opportunities.
Earlier, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said while there are numerous ID cards issued by the government, 14 percent of Filipinos are denied of government and other financial services due to a lack of proper identification documents.
Alvarez said with the National ID, the government, especially the Department of Social Welfare and Declopment or DSWD, can identify poor families and give the exact number of beneficiaries.
She said no matter how good the program is, the government will fail if it cannot gain access to the people because they don’t have any ID.
“Since the National ID have already passed congress, then it will be easier for us to implement that. So, our buffers like conditional cash transfer, unconditional cash transfers and other subsidies, talaga pong ngayon po niro-roll out na rin po natin. DWSD also can give you figures on that,” she added.