The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is targeting the rollout of offline access to digital IDs on the eGov PH app before the end of 2026, according to Undersecretary Dave Almirol.
Almirol made the disclosure during an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s “At the Forefront” program, aired Friday. The feature would let users view their government-issued IDs on the app even without an internet connection, a capability the agency positions as part of a broader push to extend digital services to Filipinos in areas with weak or absent connectivity – a persistent gap outside Metro Manila and other urban centers, where several provinces still rely on limited mobile coverage for everyday transactions.
“Part of the innovation nung eGov natin na kahit walang Internet in the future, magagamit mo (ang) eGov. You can still access your IDs… Before the end of the year, we’ll have that implemented,” Almirol said.
The eGov PH app currently hosts government-issued digital IDs including the national ID, driver’s license, senior citizen ID, and IDs issued by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth). According to Almirol, access to these credentials still depends on an active Internet connection, which the planned update is meant to address.
Almirol said the offline feature would particularly benefit residents of areas still without reliable internet service. “Meron pa tayong mga lugar na walang connectivity. But DICT is addressing that by providing free Wi-Fi services to far-flung areas,” he said.
The app, developed under the DICT’s e-governance program, has already integrated more than 1,000 government systems spanning national and local agencies, and the Philippine Statistics Authority has issued Digital National IDs to more than 82 million registered Filipinos through the platform. Republic Act No. 12254, the E-Governance Act signed in September 2025, extended legal recognition to digital government IDs served through eGov PH, giving them the same standing as their physical counterparts for transactions with government and private institutions.
Some digital IDs on the app, such as the ePhilID, already allow basic offline viewing, though QR code verification by third parties still requires an Internet connection. The offline access DICT is now developing would extend this capability across the app’s ID Wallet rather than leaving it limited to select credentials.
The offline update forms part of the government’s wider digitalization drive, which aims to move more public transactions online and cut down on repeated in-person visits to government offices for document requests and other services. DICT has not released a specific date for the rollout beyond Almirol’s end-of-year target.
