(Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Provincial Officer Ariel Fortuito (standing) discussing the importance of birth registration during the meeting of the Provincial Inter-Agency Committee on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (PIACCRVS) in Dumaguete City. PIA Negros Oriental)
DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental (PIA) — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is encouraging local government units (LGUs) to pass local ordinances supporting the national law for timely birth registration.
PSA provincial officer Ariel Fortuito said birth registration is important as prima facie evidence of facts of birth, marriage, and death in the civil registration documents.
“Without these documents, legally they could not transact with any government or even private agencies,” said Fortuito.
He emphasized the importance of a local ordinance that would require parents to register their newborn’s birth certificate at the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) within 30 days of birth.
“So we are asking that the constituents here should be registered on time because this is the basis for their identity,” said Fortuito.
PSA also urged the parents to register their child’s birth within 30 days of birth to avoid late or hassle in registration procedures.
Birth Registration Assistance Project
As of April 2025, over 18,000 individuals in the province have received birth certificates under PSA’s Birth Registration Assistance Project (BRAP).
However, PSA records show there are 63,370 residents without birth certificates, with 34,659 verified as having no birth records.
Launched in February 2022, BRAP aims to improve birth registration completeness or allow the late registration of the birth records of individuals, particularly among marginalized communities.
Based on PSA’s BRAP monitoring data, the top five local government units in Negros Oriental with a high number of individuals without birth records are Ayungon with 4,155; Sta. Catalina, 3,900; Bayawan City, 3,820; Canlaon City, 3,355; and Siaton, 2,741.
Fortuito said the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) revealed that there remains a significant number of unregistered births among the household population in the province.
“Bisan pa man sa among (despite our) ongoing mobile registration in partnership with local civil registrars, the remote location of barangays remains a challenge,” he said.
Various government agencies require birth certificates in accessing services such as education, healthcare, and social protection.
PSA is appealing to parents of children whose birth has not yet been registered to go to the nearest LCRO.
Late registration, meaning registering beyond the 30-day period, requires additional supporting documentation such as baptismal, school or employment records, among others.
“These are some tedious processes with corresponding payments. So you might as well register on time rather than late,” said Fortuito. (JCT/PIA-7 Negros Oriental)
