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NewsTranscript
00:00The Senate and the House of Representatives are discussing the implementation of a late birth registration system in the Philippines.
00:08Aside from the abuse of criminals, it is also a problem for millions of Filipinos who do not have a birth certificate.
00:15For stories and problems of those like them who are unregistered, here is the special report of Darlene Cai.
00:30Maribel is cleaning her house as a preparation for her child and husband's return from school and work.
00:50For the 47-year-old mother of four, her family gave her the most important thing.
01:00So her salary is double.
01:04Even if she wants to get a job that has a monthly salary and benefits,
01:09when she applied, she already failed because she does not have a birth certificate.
01:15When we were young, it was hard for us in the province.
01:25Maybe it's not just my parents' fault.
01:30She was 18 years old when she found out that her birth certificate was not registered with the Philippine Statistics Authority.
01:38It's very hard. The chances are limited.
01:40The opportunities that you can get are limited.
01:46Because you need a birth certificate.
01:50You will get a passport, you will get a visa, but no certificate.
01:54That's why I just stopped.
01:56Then I just went back to helping.
02:00The doctor must register the child within 30 days from the date of birth,
02:07according to the Law of Registry of Civil Statistics or Republic Act 3753.
02:11If the registration is late or late, it can still be done.
02:15But it is already included in the late registration that has additional documents.
02:22Maribel tried several times to get a birth certificate,
02:26but it was always delayed because she did not have enough money in her budget
02:29or because it was hard for her to meet other requirements.
02:34I did not have a record of getting a birth certificate in Negros Oriental.
02:39I also spent more than 3,000 pesos.
02:43It's like I lost my hope.
02:47The grade 10 student, Randy, does not know if Discarte will be able to solve her problem.
02:53She will not be able to graduate this year if she does not pass her birth certificate in school.
02:59I am very sad because I am the only one who does not have a birth certificate.
03:07Like Maribel, Randy is also having a hard time in life, so it is not easy for her mother.
03:13My mother told me that she does not know how to read.
03:16My mother did not study. She does not know how to read or write.
03:23Maribel and Randy are two of the 3.7 million Filipinos who do not have a birth certificate.
03:29Access is still a big part of this.
03:31Because if you are poor and you do not have money, you cannot easily go to the local civil registrar.
03:37The indigenous Filipinos are very far away. They are in the mountains, right?
03:47The birth certificate is more than just a piece of paper.
03:51It is a valid document of our identity.
03:55If you do not have a birth certificate, it is hard to prove that you are entitled to various rights
04:02like the right to education, right to access to health services.
04:07It is hard to prove citizenship.
04:10In simple words, people who do not have a birth certificate are invisible to the eyes of the state.
04:17But if only a few people dream of obtaining a birth certificate, many have failed.
04:28In July, the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines issued a statement
04:35In July, the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines issued a statement
04:39that more than 1,500 pecking birth certificates were issued by the local civil registry of Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur.
04:47Many of the birth certificates were issued by foreign nationals who may be involved in various crimes.
04:53And of course, who can forget Dismissed Mambantarlak Mayor Alice Guwo or Goa Ping who also pecked her birth certificate.
05:09Some congressmen said that the system of late registration may be abused to obtain a birth certificate.
05:19It has been 1930 or 64 years since the existing law on civil registration was passed
05:26wherein the birth registration is included.
05:29There are still some laws in the Senate and the House of Representatives
05:33in accordance with the strengthening of the law on late birth registration.
05:39While that is not yet there, the Quezon City Local Civil Registry or LCR
05:44implemented a fully automated or online birth registration.
05:48This is the first time in the country.
05:51When we tried this, it took less than 10 minutes to fill out all the necessary information and pass it to the LCR.
05:58On the same day, the birth certificate can be obtained.
06:02We can avoid the clerical error.
06:05The red tape here can be eliminated because there is no human intervention with regards to the registration of birth.
06:13So, we can avoid talking to each other.
06:17The PSA supported the amendment of the law.
06:21For now, the Local Civil Registry or LCR in each town is responsible for the birth registration.
06:27They have no power over the LCRs that are under the jurisdiction of each LGU.
06:32However, they still help those who do not yet have a birth certificate
06:35such as launching the Birth Registration Assistance Project in 2022.
06:40They reach out to indigenous communities, Muslim communities,
06:44those who live in remote areas, and those who are more difficult to access
06:47so that they can register for childbirth for free.
06:50Because these are the special groups that are difficult in terms of the documentation,
06:56we initiated guidelines for this special group for relaxation of the requirements.
07:03Now that the process of birth registration in the Philippines has been given notice,
07:07it is necessary to ensure that the system will not be violated by criminals.
07:11However, it will not be more difficult for other Filipinos to register.
07:16It is true that we need to amend the law,
07:20but we do not need to force the law to prevent people from registering.
07:27We just need to create an interconnected system so that validation will be easier.
07:37Based on the total population of more than 100 million,
07:41more than 3 million do not have a birth certificate.
07:45But if you look closely,
07:47those are millions of lives that are not noticed by our government and institutions.
07:54That is why we hope that in the future,
07:58no one will be left behind and everyone will be seen, noticed, and supported.
08:05This is the first news.
08:07Darlene Cai for GMA Integrated News.