National ID may become mandatory for Filipinos seeking ‘ayuda’

Filipinos needing government financial assistance may soon be required to possess a national ID to be eligible for and receive aid.

In a joint meeting last Friday, June 28, the Economic Development Group (EDG) and the Inter-Agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook (IAC-IMO) disclosed plans to use the Philippine Identification System (Philsys) for subsidy disbursement.

If this system is implemented, individuals without a Philippine Identification (PhilID), whether digital or physical, may be ineligible for government subsidies.

According to a Facebook post by the Department of Finance (DOF), the EDG and IAC-IMO emphasized that utilizing Philsys is a “more efficient” approach.

Presently, the registration and validation of qualified recipients of government aid or “ayuda” are managed by various agencies, including the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local government units.

The existing process has led to delays in distributions and raised concerns regarding the vetting procedures.

To address this issue, the DOF said, “The government is also considering the use of the Philippine Identification System (Philsys) as a registration and validation system for more efficient distribution of subsidies.”

However, the government’s plan to leverage Philsys for subsidy distributions comes amid concerns over the delay in issuing physical cards for the national ID.

As of April 26, 2024, only 50.02 million National IDs have been successfully delivered to registered individuals nationwide.

To tackle delivery challenges, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) introduced ePhilIDs, the electronic counterparts of the national ID that have the same functionalities as the physical cards.

As of April 26, 2024, more than 45.49 million ePhilIDs have been issued.

Furthermore, the government has rolled out the digital national ID, accessible via computers or smartphones connected to the internet.

The PSA reported that over 87 million Filipinos now have access to their digital national ID, which can be authenticated through the National ID eVerify and National ID Check platforms. — Chino S. Leyco