DUMAGUETE CITY – Negros Oriental registrants to the government’s national identification system have breached 90 percent of the total target set by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 45 days ahead of schedule.
Engr. Ariel Fortuito, PSA-Negros Oriental provincial chief, told the Philippine News Agency on Monday that as of November 13, the total Step 2 registration output of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) was pegged at 91.65 percent.
This represents 782,925 registrants out of the total target of 854,257, he said.
Fortuito attributed this to the satellite registrations that his office carried out in the past months to ramp up the national ID system rollout in the different towns and cities in Negros Oriental.
“We deployed registration kits and teams to the barangays and institutions instead of waiting for the people to come to us and sign up for their national IDs so we can meet our target,” he said in mixed English and Cebuano dialect.
Dumaguete, the provincial capital, topped the list of cities with the highest number of registrants so far at 79,522, followed by Bayawan City, 66,040; Guihulngan City, 59,612; Tanjay City, 53,163; Bais City, 46,493; and Canlaon City, 26,805.
Meanwhile, the municipality of Mabinay registered the highest number among towns with 45,129; followed by Sta. Catalina 43,044; and Siaton, 38,058; while the other 16 towns had less than 30,000 registrants.
Fortuito said they are confident of further exceeding their target before the yearend, and will still accept registrants after having accomplished their goal for 2021.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.
The national ID will be a valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrollment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts.
It will also boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (PNA)
