Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11055)
Republic Act No. 11055 is known as the "Philippine Identification System Act."
The State declares the policy to establish a single national system called the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) for all citizens and resident aliens to promote seamless service delivery, improve transparency, reduce corruption, enhance governance, strengthen financial inclusion, and promote ease of doing business while protecting privacy and confidentiality.
All natural persons in all transactions where the PhilSys Number, Philippine Identification (PhilID), or biometric information is required, presented, or used, whether legally or illegally, within or outside the Philippines, including citizens and resident aliens.
The PhilSys Number (PSN) is a randomly generated, unique, and permanent identification number assigned to every citizen or resident alien upon birth or registration by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). It serves as the standard number for an individual across all government agencies.
The key components are: (a) PhilSys Number (PSN), (b) the PhilSys Registry maintained by the PSA, and (c) the Philippine Identification Card (PhilID), which contains essential identifying information and security features.
Demographic data includes full name, sex, date of birth, place of birth, blood type, address, Filipino or resident alien status, marital status (optional), mobile number (optional), and email address (optional). Biometric data includes front-facing photograph, full set of fingerprints, iris scan, and possibly other identifiable features.
Registration requires personal appearance at designated registration centers and the presenting of a birth certificate for citizens or proof of residence for resident aliens. Alternative documents may be allowed. Registration centers include PSA offices, local civil registry offices, government agencies like GSIS, SSS, PhilHealth, and others.
Any person or entity refusing to accept or acknowledge the PhilID or PSN as the official identification of the holder shall be fined Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00).
Penalties include imprisonment from six months to ten years and fines ranging from Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000.00) to Five million pesos (₱5,000,000.00) depending on the offense, including submission of false information, unauthorized issuance, falsification, unlawful possession, transfer, unlawful data use, and malicious disclosure.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is the primary implementing agency responsible for planning, management, administration, registration, authentication, and data governance of the PhilSys.