The World Bank recently urged the Philippine government to expedite the rollout of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) as its use is seen to improve the delivery of social assistance.
Yoonyoung Cho, senior economist at the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the WB, said that the PhilSys holds the key to many of the institution’s recommendations for the better implementation of government’s social assistance programs.
She urged the Philippine Statistics Authority to expedite the use of mobile ID or QR codes without the physical card so the key information it contains can already be used while people are still waiting for their cards.
When the PhilSys is adopted by social assistance programs and processes, Cho said it can help clean up and establish the database for better targeting of beneficiaries in times of crisis. She cited countries with a national ID registry and digital mechanisms as being able to quickly deliver assistance during the pandemic.
She said the Philippines has no immediate mechanism to identify and verify vulnerable households when the pandemic hit the country as PhilSys was not yet operational then. This lack of a beneficiary database delayed the implementation of the government’s COVID-19 social amelioration program.
According to Cho, targeting the poorest and most vulnerable households in social assistance programs is necessary given the government’s limited resources.
She also recommended a shift to targeted cash transfers from the distribution of food packs during a crisis, which is more efficient, easily delivered, more transparent and better targeted, especially if used with enhanced targeting and payment mechanisms.
PhilSys has been seen by most Filipinos as simply another ID card that cost our government (and taxpayers) billions. Maximizing the value of PhilSys and making it a worthwhile expense for the country will depend on how government uses it to deliver services and benefits to the poor more efficiently than before, especially during times of crisis.*
