THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) yesterday endorsed the use and acceptance of the various formats of the Philippine identification (PhilID) or the national ID issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority as legitimate proof of identity.
ARTA’s endorsement was contained in Advisory No.0005 Series of 2023 that was circulated to all government offices and agencies and local government units in the Philippines and abroad.
ARTA said both the physical card, the e-PhillD printed on paper, and those downloaded on mobile devices should be honored and accepted, subject to authentication, in all transactions requiring proof or verification of identity.
The advisory is in response to complaints that some entities do not honor the printed and digital form of the PSA-issued national ID.
The ARTA said Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, provides that the different formats of the PhillD shall serve as an official government-issued identification document of cardholders when transacting with government agencies.
Additionally, Executive Order No. 162 provides that the PhilID shall be considered as sufficient proof of identity and age in all public and private transactions.
The PhillD shows the person’s PhilSys Card Number (PCN) and basic demographic information such as the last name, given name, middle name and suffix (if available), sex, blood type, marital status (if declared), date and place of birth, front-facing photograph, address, and a QR code.
Apart from the mentioned information, the ePhillD also contains its generation date. Optional information may also be present in the physical PhillD card, such as mobile number and e-mail address.
The biometric information collected includes the registered person’s full set of fingerprints, front-facing photograph, and an iris scan.
The advisory said two modes of authentication in the PhilSys can be used.
First is through matching of the presented ID against the PhilSys Registry, which can be done via a PhilSys API-enabled authentication service which employs the combination of PSN or tokens with different biometric identities like facial recognition, fingerprint or iris scan, or demographic information such as name and date of birth.
The other authentication mode is by comparison of the content of the QR Code against the PhillD and/or various formats.
ARTA reminded government offices and private entities that under that Section 19 of RA 11055, “any person or entity who, without just and sufficient cause, shall refuse to accept, acknowledge and/or recognize the PhillD or PSN, subject to authentication, as the only official identification of the holder/possessor thereof shall be fined in the amount of P500,000. If the violation was committed by a government official or employee, the penalty shall include perpetual absolute disqualification from holding public office.”
