THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is on track to bidding out the contract to design and develop the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) IDs in October.
National Statistician Lisa Grace S. Bersales told the BusinessMirror that the agency does not expect to encounter any problems that would significantly delay the project.
Bersales also said the PSA has already received some proposals from private-sector firms and will formally accept these proposals this week.
“I believe we are on track regarding the bidding. For now, the challenge that I see is that we will be doing the bidding fast. On opportunities, many are interested [in the project] so we expect to get the best for the government,” Bersales said.
Bersales said the PSA is still finalizing the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the PhilID in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC).
The details of the PhilSys implementation will all be included in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the PhilSys Act or Republic Act 11055, which is expected to be made public next month.
This will be followed by the dissemination of information on the bidding and procurement process for the PhilSys’s components, including the production and
issuance of the identification card, the PhilID.
Earlier, Neda Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie G. Edillon said once the PhilSys is fully implemented, Filipinos can say good-bye to their other government-issued IDs.
IDs that could be invalidated include the Unified Multi-Purpose ID (Umid) issued by the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
Other IDs that could be invalidated are the Tax Identification ID, Postal ID, and PhilHealth ID, among others. Only the driver’s license, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID, and passport will not be replaced by the PhilID.
The PhilID shall streamline and expedite applications for the availment of, among others, social welfare and benefits from the government; tax-related transactions; opening of bank accounts; and transactions for employment purposes.
Under the law, the PhilID will contain the registrant’s biometric information, along with seven demographic data, such as full name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, blood type, address, nationality, and three optional information, specifically, marital status, mobile number and e-mail address.
The PhilSys Act requires that said personal information be kept in a resilient data system to ensure that the people’s right to privacy, confidentiality and other basic rights, such as those guaranteed by the Data Privacy Act of 2012, are upheld.