FILIPINOS aged 18 and below can register for the Philippine Identification System, an official of the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Thursday.

PSA Assistant Secretary Rose Bautista said that children aged 5 to 15 can register as long as they are accompanied by their parents or guardians.

“Once registered, children should have to undergo recapture of biometrics when they reached 15 years old,” she said.

Bautista clarified that infants can also register for the national ID.

She noted that those below 5 years old can be registered but only their demographic characteristics and photo will be taken.

“Naka-link naman ang kanilang information doon sa PhilSys number ng kanilang parent or guardian. But right now, we are developing na kapag ipinanganak sila ay puwede nang i-save ang demographic characteristics kahit nandoon pa lang siya sa hospital.” she explained.

“Tapos ‘pag na-register na siya sa civil registrar ay doon naman natin kukunin for the corresponding issuance for the Step 2 process, although ang biometric capture ay picture lang at wala pang iris at mga fingerprints scan,” she added.

As of October 6, some 34.99 million Filipinos have completed the Step 2 biometrics registration while at least 2.2 million national ID cards have been delivered.

To register for the national ID, the public can visit https://register.philsys.gov.ph for Step 1.

After completing Step 1, registrants must book an appointment for Step 2.

The Philippine Postal Corporation will deliver the national ID cards.