PRE-SUSPENSION. Davao City cops troop to a registration center to have their biometrics recorded for the Philippine Identification card in this March 2021 photo. The city government suspended face-to-face non-emergency essential government activities, including the national ID signup, from May until Aug. 31, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Davao-CIO)
DAVAO CITY – The suspension of the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card registration in Davao City will likely end on Aug. 31 as stipulated in Executive Order (EO) No. 31 issued by Mayor Sara Duterte in May.
EO 31 states that “all face-to-face non-emergency essential government activities including trainings and seminars are hereby suspended until Aug. 31, 2021” unless they can be done virtually or online.
Although the PhilID registration is provided under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Act, it is prohibited within the prescribed period stipulated in EO 31.
“There are essential government activities like the civil service examination and the National ID registration which are postponed until Aug. 31. That stay as is for now. We did not extend it,” Duterte said in an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio on Aug. 23.
Among the activities which are permanently prohibited under EO 31 are photo shoots, ceremonial turnover rites, and wreath-laying.
Prior to the postponement, PhilSys registration sites were set up in malls and public schools with strict enforcement of the standard health protocols.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that as of Aug. 18, a total of 26,322,999 have finished the Step 2 biometrics process -- front-facing photographs and fingerprint and iris scans.
Philippine Post has already sent out 1,048,255 PhilID cards while official printing partner Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas turned over the next batch of 3,036,747 for delivery.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act 11055, or the PhilSys Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.
The national ID shall 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 also seeks to boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (PNA)
