INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE
ARSENIO M. BALISACAN, PhD
Secretary, National Economic and Development Authority
Chairperson, PhilSys Policy and Coordination Council
Launching of the Digital National ID
10 June 2024 | 10:00 AM to 12:00 NN
Digital transformation and connectivity and a dynamic innovation ecosystem are fundamental and strategic components of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028. By implementing and pushing for policies, programs, projects, and legislative priorities that advance these items on the socioeconomic agenda, we contribute to the fundamental transformation of our production sectors, enable efficient public service delivery in our social sectors, and create an enabling environment that encourages innovation, promotes sound governance, improves transparency, and reduces corruption.
Today, we are witnessing a significant step towards the future envisioned under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s leadership in Bagong Pilipinas. In collaboration with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPEIA), we are proud to launch the Digital National ID, a key component of our digital transformation strategy.
In partnership with OSAPEIA, PSA, and DICT, our commitment is to make the National ID, in its various formats, the single proof of identification. This new system will empower our citizens, allowing them to access and download their National ID on their smartphones. They can then present it to agencies and companies, simplifying identity verification for their transactions.
It is difficult to overstate the potential impact of this project: it will enable efficient identity verification to significantly improve the overall efficiency and quality of government services, especially in the delivery of responsive and timely social welfare benefits. We want to lessen leakages and ensure that public money is spent where it must be spent. Social assistance financed by limited government funds must be well-targeted and efficiently channeled electronically. This lessens opportunities for corruption and enables the government to bypass logistical costs for delivery. As a result, more resources are freed to finance our many other development needs. It will also reduce inconvenience—lining up, filling up redundant forms—on the part of intended beneficiaries: farmers and fisherfolk, students and mothers, the poor and vulnerable, those hit by disasters and urgently needing social assistance, and so on.
The Digital National ID rollout also aligns well with the government and the private sector’s advocacies and initiatives for financial inclusion and digital transformation, enabling further economic participation and inclusivity. Our country is growing relatively fast as we seek to catch up with our dynamic neighbors in the region. It falls upon the government to ensure that the benefits of growth are genuinely felt by Filipinos from all socioeconomic backgrounds, entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes, and members of all sectors.
A single proof of identification is a crucial prerequisite to access credit, as emphasized by Sec. Go, which our citizens can use to make high-return investments in physical, human, or financial assets, access various economic opportunities, and reach new markets awaiting tapping in our digitally connected world. Thus, I urge all Relying Parties to support this undertaking and utilize the National ID’s online and offline authentication services by onboarding their systems through the National ID eVerify and using the National ID Check for offline identity authentication.
More broadly, in the last two years, the Marcos Administration has walked the talk: it has recognized that the private sector is the government’s partner in nation-building and the main economic engine driving our nation’s growth. The private sector is inherently well-suited to identify and capitalize on market opportunities quickly. We humbly recognize that the government does not have all the answers; thus, we look to you as wellsprings of fresh, game-changing, and transformative ideas as we aim to maximize the use of the National ID in delivering various services. As we have demonstrated in the last two years, ours is a continuing collaboration, and you can rest assured that we are very much open to hearing your ideas and collaborating to find intelligent and sustainable solutions—with the National ID as a critical technology—to our most fundamental development challenges.
We are just getting started. I hope all of you here today share my excitement and extend your continuous support to all involved in the National ID project. We all bear a shared responsibility to ensure its successful rollout, for we all recognize its immense potential to raise the quality of public service delivery and benefit the Filipino people. Indeed, there is no time to waste as we work hard toward the progressive realization of a matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay para sa lahat.
Thank you, and good morning to all.
– END –