Middle East Conflict Hinders National ID Registration for Overseas Filipinos

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has hampered efforts to register overseas Filipinos under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys). At a Senate hearing on Monday, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said about 97 million Filipinos have been registered under PhilSys, equivalent to 85.1% of the country’s estimated 114-million population as of 2026. “So, the bulk of the adults in our country, except for very few, we have already registered,” he said. Of the roughly 17 million Filipinos who remain unregistered under PhilSys, about seven million are children aged zero to four, while overseas Filipinos account for much of the remainder, he said. “Before we always go to the Middle East, as a lot of Filipinos there are not registered. But because of the current security concern the PSA was not able to go there. But once it is open, we will continue the registration,” he added in a mix of English and Filipino. Meanwhile, lawmakers raised national security concerns after citing information from military intelligence personnel about thousands of late birth registrations, many allegedly involving Chinese nationals. In response, Mr. Mapa said the PSA is proposing that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. issue an executive order to boost birth registration among the remaining 3% of the population. The PSA estimates that about 3.5 million of the country’s 114 million population remain unregistered at birth. Mr. Mapa also said the PSA has blocked close to 1,600 records in its system after investigations found that the registrants were not Filipinos. Information on blocked cases is shared with national security agencies, including the Bureau of Immigration. Late registration refers to a birth that is registered beyond the prescribed 30-day period from the date of birth. — Justine Irish D. Tabile