Senator Win Gatchalian is pushing for an overhaul of the country’s civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) system in a bid to deter counterfeit record-keeping in the country following the discovery of fake birth registrations of foreigners involved in criminal activities.
Gatchalian filed Senate Bill 2914 to promote universal, free, and accessible civil registration through a modern and simplified registration system for vital events. The measure seeks to establish the most precise identity of an individual for administrative and legal purposes. This will ensure easier generation, recording, and retrieval of vital statistics.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has identified 14.9 million late birth registration submitted between 2010 and 2024, subject for review to verify authenticity. Among these is the birth certificate of former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo which contains discrepancies.
Gatchalian said the measure introduces stricter penalties for offenses such as forging civil registry documents, submitting false information, facilitating fraudulent records, failing to report vital events, and health facilities refusing to report births due to unpaid hospital fees.
“The law needs to be updated as penalties for violations of the Act are too minimal and outdated at this point in time,” Gatchalian said. He noted that the act of knowingly making false statements in relation to civil registration is currently punishable by imprisonment of one to six months, a fine of P200 to P500, or both. Meanwhile, failure to report the occurrence of vital events by responsible informants under the Act is penalized with a fine of only P10 to P200.
The bill establishes the Civil Registration Office under the PSA to manage central registry documents, archive records, and modernize the country’s CRVS system. It also creates an inter-agency committee to address CRVS law enforcement issues and form task forces at the regional, provincial, and local levels for nationwide coordination and enforcement.
If enacted, the measure will be called the Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Act, repealing Republic Act 3753 or the Philippine Law on Registry of Civil Status.
