Philippines begins national ID registrations

The Philippine statistics agency has begun registering millions of citizens to the national identification system. The new system issues a unique personal identifier to each person once they have registered with their personal details including: name, sex, birth date and place, blood type, address, nationality as well as biometrics such as fingerprints, facial photos, and iris scans. It will also be used across government agencies and in access to private services. Officials expect the ID system to accelerate growth of the digital economy and support digital payments.