BACOLOD City – Some 381 Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) registration kits arrived in Negros Occidental this week.
The equipment were delivered by Philippine Navy ship BRP Ivatan at the Bredco port and transported by troops of the Philippine Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Provincial Office here.
Luis Gonzales, chief statistical specialist of PSA-Negros Occidental, said the kits will be distributed to 32 local government units (LGUs) across the province, including this capital city.
“We are still checking the kits to see if these are complete. These will also be reconfigured before deployment to the LGUs,” Gonzales said.
Each kit includes a photo booth and other equipment that capture the biometric information of applicants.
In Negros Occidental, 808,387 low-income household heads and members have been pre-registered for the PhilSys, based on the data of PSA-Western Visayas.
According to Gonzales, of the number, some 400,000 individuals have been initially scheduled for registration from Nov. 25 to Dec. 21. They are expected to receive their ID cards within the year.
However, the central office has suspended the registration schedule for Nov. 25 to 30.
Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Alvaran, commanding officer of 79IB, welcomed the establishment of the national ID system.
“This will enable our government to have a more efficient system to implement social assistance programs, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations,” Alvaran said./PN
