By Alithea De Jesus
The much-awaited implementation of the National ID system or the Philippine ID System (Philsys) launches in an Online Kick-off Program on October 9, 2020.
FintechAlliance.ph is a dynamic financial inclusion partner of Philsys. The organization is a coalition among strategic players in the digital finance space operating in the Philippines to articulate its aspirations as an emerging industry to further stimulate innovation to promote inclusive growth while creating an environment for interoperability to empower every Filipino.
“We welcome this big leap of creating a national ID system that would ease the life of Filipinos. We in the financial sector commit to providing easier access for Filipinos to financial services using the Philsys, assured Lito Villanueva, Fintech Alliance Chairman and RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer.
Philsys is created under Republic Act 1105 known as the Philippine Identification System Act signed into law by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on August 6, 2018. The Philippine Statistics Authority is designated as the main implementing agency.
The program aims to prioritize the registration of about five million low-income household heads by end of 2020. Once registered they will enjoy numerous benefits such as the more efficient distribution of government aid; easier and faster access to government to government services; easier transactions and applications to anything requiring a government-issued proof of identity and access to financial institutions such as opening basic bank accounts. Registrations to the Philsys will start from October 12 until December 30, 2020.
“Philsys will make transacting both in the government and private sectors a lot simpler for our fellow Filipinos and more importantly it will strengthen financial inclusions even to low-income groups”, says Undersecretary Dennis Mapa Ph.D., head of the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The unbanked sector of the general population today is still at a large 77% or 52 million and the general public have used alternative financial services through the years and have driven a whole industry out to promote financial inclusion towards the next decade.
The launch of this National ID system, is very timely, especially during this pandemic. Low income families will have access to basic banking services ensuring the accuracy, transparency, and efficiency of the delivery of aid and facilitating access to more job opportunities among others.