MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. is losing patience over the slow rollout of national IDs, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Wednesday.

DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said his agency would "significantly" increase the issuance of digital national IDs or ePhilIDs, while printed versions are taking longer to produce.

• PSA eyes rollout of printable version of national IDs amid delays

"So, a lot of delays have already happened and there are many of our countrymen who have been complaining that up to this date, they have not yet received their national ID," Uy told Palace reporters.

"The President has expressed his impatience because a lot of things needed to be done and it’s all dependent on the deployment of a national ID," he added.

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The National Economic Development Authority last month said the management and production of digital national IDs had been transferred to the DICT from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA has "captured" the data of around 80 million individuals for the national ID.

The DICT needs access to the PSA's database to deploy the ID in digital format.

"Wala namang ultimatum, kami lang ang nagbigay ng goal namin," he said.

The ePhilID, which has security features, has served as a temporary national ID pending the issuance of the printed one.

With the ePhilID, registered persons can immediately utilize the benefits of PhilSys, such as faster and seamless transactions in accessing financial and social protection services, according to the PSA website.

Marcos in December last year ordered the PSA to fast-track the printing of national IDs.

As of June 16, 2023, some 33.4 million physical IDs have been delivered, while 36.8 million digital IDs have been issued, PSA said.