The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Negros Oriental aims to register the province’s entire population of 1,492,038, based on the 2024 Census of Population (Popcen), into the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) by the end of 2025.
PSA Negros Oriental chief Engineer Ariel Fortuito reported during the recent Provincial Statistics Committee meeting that registration has already reached 1.3 million residents or 87.91 percent of the target population as of June 2025.
“Before, we included registration of children aged zero to four years, but now we bring in newborns whose accompanying parents already have a National ID. The babies’ IDs will be linked to their parents,” Fortuito said.
For children aged zero to 17 years, a mother must be present during registration, and she must also be registered.
Parents are encouraged to register their children, especially those who benefit from government programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Supporting documents, such as a certificate of live birth, must be presented to validate the child’s demographic information.
After verification, a front-facing photo of the child will be taken.
Complete biometric data — including fingerprints, iris scan, and an updated photo — will be collected only once the child reaches the age of five.
Fortuito added that registration is ongoing in the province but is currently limited to four registration teams deployed across clustered municipalities.
The PSA has also announced that it is now accepting corrections for the National ID, including clerical errors in names (if explicitly shown on the birth certificate), changes in marital status, permanent address, and blood type.
During the meeting, the PSA shared information about the most and least populous local government units (LGUs) in the province based on 2024 Popcen data.
The top five most populous LGUs are Dumaguete City (142,171), Bayawan City (126,744), Guihulngan City (106,576), Bais City (88,050), and Mabinay (85,770).
The five least populous LGUs are San Jose (22,870), Amlan (26,566), Basay (30,018), Zamboanguita (30,412), and Dauin (30,921). (PIA-NIR Negros Oriental)