The government is eyeing the registration of six million Filipinos to be registered under the National Identification System starting September this year, Malacanang said on Thursday.

During the Cabinet meeting, which President Rodrigo Duterte presided over on Wednesday night in Malacanang, the implementation of Philippine Identification System (PhilSys ID) was part of the agenda.

"The President was agreeable to the establishment of one and I think it will start in September of 2019 with a target of 6 million Filipinos for registration this year," said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a press briefing.

He said that during the meeting, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. proposed that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) take the lead as far as cyber security is concerned.

The DICT should help the Philippine Statistics Authority, the main implementor of the PhilSys ID, in the security of data, he said.

"The President ordered the best and safest system of the implementation of the National ID System," he added.

Republic Act No. 11055, otherwise known as the Philippine Identification System Act, was signed into law in August last year.

Under the law, one year after the effectivity of the Act, every citizen or resident alien shall register personally with the registration centers that have the necessary facilities to capture the information required in the Registry. Celerina Monte/DMS