Digital National ID | FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — To those who registered for their national ID and still have not yet received their physical cards, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has launched a solution for it.
Last June 10, the PSA partnered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), to launch the Digital National ID, along with authentication platforms, National ID eVerify, and National ID Check.
On Tuesday, during a news forum by the Philippine News Agency here, PSA-7 Director Ariel Florendo urged the public, especially those who registered for National ID to utilize the digital version.
Florendo said that this Digital National ID is accepted in all establishments, and if they refuse to accept it, they will be given a penalty.
“Kung naay establishments na dili mo accept ani, inform us kay medyo dako raba ang penalty ani. If I can share it, P500,000 ang penalty,” he said.
(If there are establishments who will not accept this, please inform us because the penalty for this is really big. If I can share it, the penalty is P500,000.)
Target registrants
Those, who have not received the PVC or physical cards version of their National IDs, they can make use of the digital version for easier transactions in public offices and private institutions.
Moreover, he stated that as of 2024, Central Visayas has 6.8 million registered for the National ID with Cebu having 4.2 million registered individuals and 4.4 million ID cards delivered.
He also added that their target for mobile registration for the National ID in the region is 7 million by the end of September.
In order for the PSA to reach this target goal, they will conduct their mobile registration of National ID in the remote barangays.
“When we say mobile moadto mi from one Barangay, even to remote Barangay. Dili mi magstayput lang sa office…What we do is we go to the farthest Barangay kasi naa may uban na dili ka baba and of course financial reason and all the other reasons…Where we bring the National ID in every corner of Central Visayas,” Florendo said.
(When we say mobile, we will go from one barangay, even to the remote barangay. We will not stay put in the office… What we do is we go to the farthest barangay because there are others who can not go down from where they are and of course, financial reason and all the other reasons…where we bring the national ID in every corner of Central Visayas.)
Upon learning about the new platform, some people here have expressed their support for the digital ID.
Fhel Lorainne Epili, 21, from Lapu-Lapu City, told CDN Digital that the digital national ID helped her in case her actual ID gets lost.
“The digital version sa National ID helped me in a way nga if ever mahibilin or mawala man gani akong actual ID, dili ra ko mamroblema kay naa ra koy mapresent or mapakita nga Digital ID,” Epili said.
(The digital version of the national ID helped me in a way that if ever this will be left or the actual ID will be lost, I will not have a problem because I can present or show the Digital ID.)
Edelyn Dumagpi, 23, from Barangay Ermita, Cebu City, said that the Digital National ID would indeed b useful to her.
“Well gamit gyud kaayo labi na og malimot ka sa imohang physical ID. Labi na wala kay lain government ID,” Dumagpi said.
(It is really useful especially if you forget to bring your physical ID. Especially if you don’t have any other government ID.)
Sarah Jane Catibod, 21, from Lahug, Cebu City finds the digital version convenient, although she prefers having a physical ID.
“As someone who doesn’t have my physical National ID yet, it is somehow convenient for me to have my digital ID but somehow I am also eager to have my physical ID for me knowing I can use it in any transactions,” Catibod said.
How to access your Digital National ID?
According to the PSA in its official site, anyone registered with the National ID system can access the digital version through visiting the link, https://national-id.gov.ph, or download the eGovPH app, ‘which requires input of demographic information and facial verification to confirm the individual’s identity.’
When you open the website or the application, you just have to fill in the required information such as your first name, middle name, last name, and date of birth.
Then, you have to make sure that the device you are using has a camera since the application will conduct a face verification to verify your identity.
After that, you will be able to access your Digital National ID.