After what feels like forever, my National ID card finally arrived!
But there was a clerical error in my information.
I am single, but the info on the card says “married”. Since this is a national ID, I thought it better to have it corrected as soon as possible, lest it give me further trouble in the future.
I went to the nearest Philsys Registration Center. You can look for it here: https://philsys.gov.ph/registration-center/
There are only 5 now in Metro Manila:
NCR 1 – City of Manila
G/F, J&T Bldg., 3894 Ramon Magsaysay Blvd. corner Santol St., Sta. Mesa, Manila
NCR 2 – Quezon City
3rd Floor Jackman Plaza Muñoz Barangay Ramon Magsaysay Quezon City
NCR 3 – City of Makati
7464 Bagtikan st. Brgy. San Antonio City of Makati
NCR 4 – Caloocan City
4F, The Grandz Commercial Center Building, Mac Arthur Highway cor. Calle 4, Barangay 81, Caloocan City
NCR 5 – Pasay City
MILLE Building, 335-337 Gil Puyat Ave. corner Dominga St., Pasay City
I went to the one in Sta Mesa. To get there, you can take any public transpo passing through Stop & Shop, get off at Stop & Shop, it’s just a very short walk from the newly opened Starbucks in Stop & Shop. J&T Bldg also has a parking area inside (there’s a guard).
It is also a very short jeepney ride (or 10-15 minutes’ walk) from SM Sta Mesa.
The one in Sta Mesa has very few people going there, walang pila. Very easy to get your concern processed. They are also open on Saturdays.
When I went there, I showed all my paperwork, but they said they needed a CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage), and to come back when I had my CENOMAR. This one was the hassle part, because they would only accept a CENOMAR, no matter what else I presented, and even though the mistake was not my fault. They were friendly though (hindi masungit).
I quickly requested for my CENOMAR online from my mobile phone, via https://psahelpline.ph/ and paid with GCash, total amount was P420 (this includes courier fee). Yes, it was expensive. But if you add the hassle, transpo cost, food cost, etc if I went to the PSO office in East Avenue to get it myself, it would cost more. So, okay, just pay the P420 for less headache.
I also received texts from Philsys updating me of what was happening with my CENOMAR request.
It arrived within 2 days!
Once I had my CENOMAR, I went back to the Philsys office and got my info updated within minutes. It was so fast & easy!
They gave me a new paper slip thingy and told me to wait for the new card to arrive within a few weeks. I did not have to pay for anything (apart from the P420 spent to get the CENOMAR).
This was like 2 weeks ago, I am still waiting for my updated National ID card to arrive. Hopefully, it won’t take as long as the first one.
The process was so fast, I had time to enjoy a matcha latte and check out the newly-opened Starbucks afterwards 🙂
