THE House of Representatives on Wednesday endorsed for Senate approval the bill providing for “lifetime validity” of birth, death and marriage certificates that are issued, signed, certified and authenticated by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Local Civil Registry Offices (LCROs) and National Statistics Office (NSO).
This, after lawmakers, voting 199 affirmative, 0 negative with no abstention, approved on third and final reading House Bill 9175 to eliminate the unnecessary costs, inconvenience and redundant burden of securing the most recent copy of the civil registry document.
The bill will be transmitted to the Senate for its own deliberations.
HB 9175 seeks to establish an effective system for providing copies of civil registry documents by removing duplicitous processes and requirements involving the issuance and use of such documents.
The measure provides for the creation of a civil registry database.
It also establishes a virtual viewing facility in local civil registries and in the Philippine Foreign Service Posts, to verify the authenticity of the certificates of live birth, death and marriage, and the reports of birth, death, or marriage submitted.
The bill prohibits national government agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, local government units, private companies, private and public educational institutions, and other non-government entities from requiring the submission of another or newer copies of these civil registry documents when a valid certificate can already be presented.
In the absence of a PSA-issued certificate, the measure said it will be acceptable for individuals to submit the original or certified true copy of the original certificates of live birth, death or marriage issued and signed by the local civil registrar or National Statistics Office certificates printed on security paper and has the Birth Reference Number or BReN code or barcode.
House Committee on Population and Family Relations chairman Rep. Ma. Lucille Nava M.D. said considering the confusion surrounding the validity of PSA-issued certificates, many government agencies and employers require applicants to submit the certificate of live birth, or death, or marriage printed on the latest security paper (SECPA) and issued within the last six months.
“This is burdensome to Filipinos as it imposes inconvenience and unnecessary expenses, most especially to those who live in remote areas in the countryside,” Nava said.
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