President Rodrigo Duterte and his Cabinet approved an additional P3.52 billion for the implementation of the National ID system for next year, Malacanang said Wednesday.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the additional funds will be used to register 20 million more individuals to the Philippine Identification System by the end of 2021.
“This is on top of the 50 million target registration,” Roque said.
In 2018, Duterte signed into law the PhilSys Act that mandated the government to create a single official identification card for all citizens and foreign residents that would serve as a de facto national identification number.
The ID aims to boost efficient public service delivery, enhance administrative governance, reduce corruption, curtail bureaucratic red tape, promote ease of doing business, and strengthen financial inclusion.
The Philippine Statistics Authority started the registration to the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), giving priority to low-income families.
As this developed, a leader of the House of Representatives on Wednesday welcomed the statement of the National Economic and Development Authority on the government’s use of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) or national ID for a more targeted distribution of COVID-19 vaccine to priority groups.
Rep. Rida Robes of San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, chairperson of the House committee on people’s participation, stressed the need for the government to immediately implement the national ID system in time for its COVID-19 vaccination program expected next year.
“With the limited supply of initial Covid-19 vaccine, it is important that we have a system to identify the priority patients and make sure the vaccine reaches them,” Robes said in a statement.
Duterte had also said the execution of the national ID system could have solved discrepancies in the distribution of cash assistance to low-income families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national ID system seeks to harmonize, integrate, and interconnect the countless and redundant government IDs by establishing a single national identification system.
Robes reiterated her appeal to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to seriously consider facilitating the implementation of the national ID system as biometric ID on the administration of the Covid 19 vaccine in order to identify and track patients even in rural and offline settings to ensure that everyone receives a Covid-19 vaccine.
“Let us work together to ensure that the vaccines are made available to everyone who needs it. There is now light at the end of the tunnel and we should make sure that every Filipino gets to that light so we can begin to rebuild our lives,” Robes said. The IATF has identified 12 vulnerable groups that will be given first priority on the vaccine based on the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization. They are the frontline health workers from the public and private sectors, indigent senior citizens, remaining senior citizens, our indigent population, and uniformed personnel.
Other priorities are teachers and school workers from public and private institutions, government workers, essential workers in agriculture, food industry, transportation and tourism, socio-demographic groups at significantly higher risk like people deprived of liberty, People with Disability and Filipinos living in high-density areas, Overseas Filipino Workers, other remaining workforce and students.
Robes said she has been conducting meetings with the different embassies to get updates on the development of Covid 19 vaccines in their respective countries and help facilitate the dialogue between their governments and the Philippine government to enable Filipino to get access to vaccines should they be proven effective and safe.
She said the government should plan for an expedited distribution and delivery system of the vaccines once they arrive in the country. “We should devise effective delivery and monitoring systems so that those needing the vaccine the most should get it on time and thereafter be closely monitored and assisted,” she said.
According to Robes, the establishment of a reliable and efficient supply chain to monitor the flow of the vaccines is also crucial. “We need to make sure that the vaccines remain potent all the way to the patient.”