The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on DSWD’s adoption of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) for the identification and verification of beneficiaries for various social welfare programs.
According to PSA, the MOA comprises a pilot test of the PhilSys in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program and the gradual integration of PhilSys API-enabled services into all DSWD programs over three years.
“The PSA recognizes the partnership with the DSWD as a breakthrough in giving a more strengthened financial inclusivity for public services as it will allow PhilSys to achieve one of its goals, that is to quickly deliver services to the public through the programs under the DSWD. As the PhilSys continues to expand its implementation, may this partnership encourage other government agencies and private institutions to work hand-in-hand with the PSA to provide the public with easier access to other various private and government services,” said PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa, Ph.D., National Statistician and Civil Registrar General.
The PSA mentioned that adopting PhilSys will enable DSWD to enhance its social protection delivery and improve the overall experience for its beneficiaries. The benefits of PhilSys adoption cover digitizing and streamlining DSWD’s beneficiary registration, establishing a United Beneficiary Database (UBD), identifying and removing duplicate or ghost beneficiaries, and enabling financial inclusion and digital payments.
Moreover, this also includes the use of biometric verification through the PhilSys and offline verification through the PhilSys ID (PhilID) card, enrollment of future beneficiaries into programs using PhilSys e-KYC, and uniquely identifying beneficiary records by seeding PhilSys Number (PSN) tokens.
“With the PhilSys-enabled services adopted in the said programs, we strive to promote seamless service delivery in order to improve the efficiency, and transparency of our social protection programs. It is also a step towards financial inclusion for our beneficiaries and clients. The PhilSys ID, as a valid proof of identity, is easily accessible to everyone. It opens a lot of opportunities for the unbanked poor and vulnerable sectors particularly on easier registration with the bank and other financial institutions of their choice, therefore expanding their access to social and financial services,” said DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista.
What’s more, they also noted that this would enable DSWD to provide benefits more quickly to intended beneficiaries while preventing fraud and leakages. Through this, the program beneficiaries will also find social assistance services more accessible with a streamlined process.
Source: PSA
