The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Negros Oriental has successfully piloted the testing of its national identification verification application program with no problems encountered.

“We have conducted the required 30 test subjects for the Civil Registration Services authentication service and so far everything went well,” PSA-Negros Oriental head Ariel Fortuito said on Friday, August 18.

The verification of national ID cards was pilot-tested in Dumaguete City from August 15 to 17 before its rollout in September.

The CRS app can be used to verify national IDs as it does not contain the owner’s signature but rather contains stored data, such as fingerprints and iris scans.

Meanwhile, Fortuito said the PSA-Negros Oriental is undertaking various strategies to accommodate registrants to the government’s national identification program, as well as other concerns in line with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).

He also said aside from the usual registration of applicants, his office also caters to various concerns of national ID card holders, which were not previously possible.

“We will accept requests for replacement of damaged PhilID cards, replacement for retrieval of lost transaction reference number and issuance of printable ePhilIDs,” he said.

The PSA-Negros Oriental will also undertake co-location in schools during their respective enrollment periods and with the enrollment of 4Ps or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program and conduct mobile registration at the “sitios” or sub-villages.

Fortuito said they have to find new strategies to reach out to the remainder of the province’s population who have yet to register for the national ID system.

A total of 1,108,728 residents have registered in Negros Oriental, representing 87.65 percent of its 1,264,881 population based on the 2020 census.

Fortuito said there is still no exact date as to when children less than five years old can be registered for the PhilSys program. (PNA)