The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Saturday said it will speed up the production of Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) cards, also called the National ID cards, to comply with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to issue 50 million such IDs by yearend.
In an interview on a radio-TV program, PSA deputy national statistician Fred Sollesta said they will increase production of the National IDs, in coordination with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) from the present 80,000 a day to 133,000 daily come October.
Sollesta said the PSA will also roll out printable and digital versions of the National IDs to achieve the targeted 50 million issued out by the end of the year.
In his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos ordered the issuance of 30 million physical cards and 20 million digital PhilSys IDs to achieve the ultimate goal of 92 million issued out by mid-2023.
Sollesta said the printable and digital versions of the National ID will have similar features as the physical cards, such as a unique QR code that can be scanned for authentication.
The printable and digital versions will be issued to those who are yet to receive their physical cards and are still valid proof of one’s identification, he said.
Sollesta also said at present, 71 million Filipinas have registered with the PhilSys, with their demographic and biometrics information already taken.
Of this number, 17 million cards have been produced, of which 15 million were already distributed.
“By first semester of 2023, we will deliver 92 million combinations of physical, printable, and mobile IDs,” Sollesta said.