5M Bicolanos now registered with Philippine Identification System

By Connie Calipay

LEGAZPI CITY --- More than 5 million individuals in the Bicol Region are now registered with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), the regional office of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

In a report on Tuesday, PSA 5 (Bicol) Director Cynthia Perdiz said the achievement is 98.19 of the target of 5.09 million for the national identification from 2021 to 2024.

Among the provinces in the region, Camarines Sur recorded the highest number of registrants, with 1.6 million; followed by Albay with 1.1 million; Masbate with 827,430; Catanduanes with 261,357; Camarines Norte with 524,932; and Sorsogon with 700,462.

Perdiz said the region has received 3.1 million national identification (ID) cards from the Philippine Postal Corp. (PhlPost).

“PSA issued 1.9 million National IDs in paper form to individuals. The National ID in paper form, formerly known as the ePhilID, is a proactive strategy of the PSA designed to allow more Filipinos to immediately benefit from being PhilSys-registered,” she said.

Perdiz said the paper form has the same functionality and validity as the physical card.

“PSA-Bicol remains dedicated to reaching the unregistered population through all available efforts. Mobile registration initiatives, such as the PhilSys-on-Wheels program, have been deployed to ensure Filipinos’ coverage in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs). Under this program, vehicles equipped with registration kits are sent to GIDAs to enable residents to register on-site,” she added.

Perdiz said the PSA continues its partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to register beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

“This ensures that beneficiaries and their household members gain access to social protection programs and services, promoting a more efficient, targeted, and equitable delivery of social welfare assistance,” she said. (PNA)