The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has pre-registered 308,152 people in Leyte province for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), reaching out to half of the target poor individuals, an official reported on Tuesday.

Since the start of pre-registration on Oct. 12 until Nov. 15, Leyte, one of PhilSys pilot provinces, has listed 49.20 percent of the target population, said Anesia Babante, chief of the Philippine Statistics Authority civil registration and administrative division chief, in a phone interview.

“We are on track for the first step of registration and we are preparing for the second step. The next step will not be implemented on time since we are still (waiting) for the arrival of kits. The delivery has been delayed due to typhoons in the past weeks,” Babante told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The first step is pre-registration that involves going from house-to-house of pre-identified household heads to get their demographic information and to schedule a date for them to visit the registration center.

PSA interviewers have been using tablets to gather demographic information such as full name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, address whether a Filipino or resident alien, marital status, mobile number, and email address.

The second step is the biometric capturing of the pre-registered individuals in the registration center, which was supposed to start on Nov. 25.

The PSA is eyeing to pre-register 626,294 individuals in Leyte province for PhilSys, prioritizing the poor adult individuals as identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The agency takes the lead in the PhilSys registration, with the support of various government agencies and all local government units.

Those registered with PhilSys will get a Philippine identification card, a government-issued identification card, and proof of identity.

The PhilSys national ID will contain a quick response (QR) code with the owner’s two fingerprint data and a unique 12-digit identification number called the PhilSys number assigned upon birth or registration to the PhilSys.

The national ID system seeks to achieve a more efficient distribution of government aid to low-income households, easier and faster access to government services, easier transactions, and applications to anything requiring a government-issued proof of identity.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed the Philippine Identification System Act, or Republic Act 11055, into law on Aug. 6, 2018, which establishes a single national identification system. (PNA)