Digital National Senior Citizens ID to streamline gov’t services, benefits
The digital National Senior Citizens ID (NSCID) on the eGovPH application was launched on Friday, aiming to streamline access to government services and benefits for the elderly.
“We are keeping pace with technology, and this is one of the goals of our President and this administration,” Mary Jean P. Loreche, chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC), told BusinessWorld in Filipino during an interview.
“By using the national digitalized senior citizen ID system, life will be easier for our elderly in accessing services and identifiers,” she added.
Citing the latest data from the local statistics agency, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary David L. Almirol Jr. said there are 12 million senior citizens in the Philippines.
8.4 million are registered in the national ID, while only 1.2 million are senior citizens registered in the eGovPH application.
All senior citizens registered in the eGovPH app and who possess a national ID will have their digital NSCIDs automatically activated.
“There are still around 2 million to 3 million people who are not yet registered in the national ID,” Mr. Almirol said in a briefing. “Once those over 2 million individuals get their national ID, the process will then be automated using our citizens’ data.”
The digital NSCID carries the same rights and benefits as the physical card and documentation, including discounts, healthcare services, transportation, and retail privileges.
Establishments can also verify the authenticity of the digital IDs through the scanner feature in the application.
“If they are going to use fake IDs, they will get caught by the establishment automatically,” Mr. Almirol said in Filipino.“The eGov app has a scanner on the lower right side to verify whether it is a legitimate senior citizens ID, national ID, or driver’s ID.”
Although innovative, Ms. Loreche noted that challenges brought by this digitalization are unavoidable but can be addressed with the help of the private sector and the DICT.
“Hindi naman natin ikinakaila na hindi lahat may cellphone [We can’t deny that not everyone has cellphones],” she said. “Hindi rin kaila satin na hindi lahat techy [It is also not new to us that not everyone is techy].”
“We also have problems with the internet and their ability to learn this technology,” she added.
On its website, NCSC committed to working closely with the regional offices, local government units (LGUs), and partner organizations to provide on-the-ground support and digital onboarding for those who are unable to register online.
Digitalization of PWD IDs
Following the digitalization of the national and senior citizens’ ID, DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda said the Persons with Disability (PWD) ID will go digital as well.
“Watch out we will roll it out very soon,” Mr. Aguda told reporters in an interview.
PWD advocate Paolo A. Capino noted that as digitalization advances, safeguarding the privacy of persons with disabilities (PWDs) must remain a top priority.
“Praying that it will secure the data though from commercial or even digital bad actors,” he said. “This effort shows promise and that it will allow a unified database.” – Almira Louise S. Martinez
