The Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has allowed minors aged 15and seniors aged 65 and above to go outside their homes to register for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), according to Palace spokesman Harry Roque.
While Filipinos can register online for the first step of the national ID system, the second step requires them to go to a registration center to have their biometric information and photographs taken, he said.
Roque also explained that minors who are 15 and persons above 65 years old were allowed to leave their homes for getting essential goods and services or to go to their workplaces aside from registering for the PhilSys.
“As we pursue this long-overdue project, I ask every Filipino to give PhilySys a chance so that we may maximize the advantages of a universal and secure database that will make transactions more efficient and our lives more convenient,” Roque said.
“Let me assure everyone as well as apart from its primary purpose of providing a resilient digital identification system for all Filipinos, PhilSys will also uphold the privacy of all personal information,” he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018 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.