“1 year anniversary na.”
An announcement of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) was greeted by applicants of the national ID who claimed that their own cards have not yet been delivered a year after applying.
Last Friday, the agency said that it continues to scale up efforts to deliver the national ID to millions of Filipinos by tapping 17 field offices to help the Post Office deliver the cards to those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
“The PSA salutes the regional directors who signified their support in ensuring that more Filipinos can have a valid proof of identity that will allow them to access essential government and financial services,” Undersecretary Dennis Mapa of the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
“Their cooperation will boost efforts to deliver cards to the millions of Filipinos currently registered to PhilSys, especially those residing in far-flung areas,” he added.
The agency also said that it will soon roll out its mobile app this year. Registrants who have not yet received their physical IDs may use its digital version through offline and online transactions with the help of the app.
The announcement triggered comments from some applicants who claimed that it has been “one year” since they have registered for the national ID.
“Nako po, 1 year aniversary na ng PhilSys ko wala pa din, anyare. Ay nako, Santo Santo na ta’s eleksyon, (giyera ng) Russia, sumabog na ang Taal. Hinaantay niyo, bagyo?” a Filipino wrote in the comments.
“Happy anniversary,” another Facebook user quipped.
“1 year na po (‘yung) sakin, hanggang ngayon wala pa rin. Saan ba pwede kuhanin ‘yan at personal na lang kami mag-claim niyan, kaya naman namin mamasahe, thank you,” a different applicant said.
“Amin po 1 year and 1 month na… still waiting pa din,” commented another Filipino.
“Sabi 3 to 6 months (mare-receive) na ‘yong ID. Mag-1 year na po, waley pa rin po,” a different user said.
The page administrator replied to one of the Filipinos in the comments with the following:
“Sa kabila ng limitasyon na dala ng pandemya, tinitiyak ng PSA ang patuloy na produksyon at delivery ng PhilID sa milyon-milyong Pilipino na matagumpay nang nakatapos ng kanilang PhilSys Step 1 and Step 2 registration.”
“Hiling namin ang inyong pag-unawa at suporta. Kasalukuyan naming prayoridad ang paghahatid ng PhilID sa mga low-income families na nairehistro mula noong 2020 at mga unang buwan ng 2021.”
“Samantala, antabayanan ang paglulunsad ng PhilSys mobile ID, ang alternatibo at digital na bersyon ng PhilID na maaari nang gamitin habang naghihintay sa inyong aktwal na card.”
This was not the first time that applicants have brought up concerns about their national ID cards.
Last month, the keyword “National ID” reached the top trending list on Philippine Twitter as Filipinos wonder when their IDs would be delivered following their registration.
READ: ‘Where’s mine?’: National ID Twitter trend reminds Filipinos of delays
The PSA on March 22 said that over eight million cards have already been, which was 24.2% of this year’s set delivery target of 33.8 million.
The national ID aims to establish a single identification card or system for all citizens in the Philippines which will replace over 46 existing government IDs to provide better convenience in transactions.
