By Chino S. Leyco The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) began yesterday the pilot testing for country’s national identification (ID) system, and reassured the public that their personal information will not be compromised once it is fully implemented by the end of President Duterte’s term. In a statement, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis S. Mapa said that the government is on track in its full implementation of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), the foundational identification system of the country, by mid-2022. Signed into law by President Duterte in August 2018, PhilSys aims to provide a valid proof of identity for all Filipino citizens and resident aliens. It also envisions to simplify public and private transactions, as well as curtail bureaucratic red tape in the government. “We are on track to have the system fully operational and to start the mass registration by mid-2020, and complete the enrollment of the population by mid-2022,” Mapa said, noting the PSA has just finished procuring the registration kits—one of the five major procurement blocks of the program. In the pipeline for PhilSys are the procurement of the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), System Integrator (SI), and registration centers. For card production, the PSA is in partnership with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). On Monday, the pilot test registration involving a small number of individuals from Metro Manila has started. This includes select Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) beneficiaries and employees of PSA and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). “The PSA sees the utmost importance for the PhilSys to first undergo a series of pilot testing before finally launching it to the public. We want to ensure that the processes are efficient, the systems are fully functional, and all information within the system are secure,” Mapa added.