[4][5] Senator Panfilo Lacson, one of the major proponents of the act, argued that its implementation aims to reduce bureaucratic tape and criminality.

[6] Reactions to the identity cards themselves have also been negative, criticizing printing errors, unflattering photos that are also prone to fading, the lack of the cardholder's signature, and the delays in distributing them.

However previous efforts to legislate the system has failed due to concerns in privacy and lack of support from the Congress.

[13] The front side of the PhilID bears the coat of arms of the Philippines and the logo of the National ID system.

The back features the card's date of issue, QR code, and serial number alongside the bearer's sex (Male, Female), blood type (O+/-, A+/-, B+/-, AB+/-), marital status (optional), and place of birth.

[15] As a government-issued identification document, it also can be used the day-to-day transactions of registering for a mobile phone line, obtaining certain discounts at stores and shops (especially for senior citizens), and logging on to certain websites on the internet.

The ID does not replace existing government identification cards that serve a purpose beyond identity authentication, such as the driving license, passport, and UMID.

[19][20] In an October 2018 report, PSA head (Lisa Grace S. Bersales, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General of the PSA) reported that the necessary bid procurement for the national ID system was scheduled to commence at around 3rd week of October 2018 and end around December 2018.

With the design of concept done, with testing projected for January 2019, procurement estimated ideally for June 2019, and roll-out planned for September 2019.

The testing was planned continue until July 2020, when registration is slated to be expanded and opened to the public, with overseas registry starting mid-2021.

Set to begin in May 2020, the PSA planned to extend the pilot registration process to test the end-to-end system which essentially involves deduplication, generation of unique PhilSys Numbers (PSN), and card printing and issuance."

[25][26] Proponents of the PhilSys assert that a national identification system would be beneficial in easing access to government services, reducing red tape, and law enforcement.

[27] Upon the implementation of the PhilSys Act, the Philippine Statistics Authority drew flak on social media due to delayed delivery of the national ID cards, some of which also suffered from typographical errors (usually misspelled names), unflattering photos, and fading of the print after a short period.

[34][6] The Communist Party of the Philippines has condemned the passage of the PhilSys Act, expressing fears that the national ID system may be used for "mass surveillance and criminal profiling".