Senator Win Gatchalian has called on the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to implement a proactive, community-based approach to assist unregistered individuals in securing their birth certificates. This follows his filing of Senate Bill 2914, which seeks to overhaul the country’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system and address the issue of counterfeit records, particularly after the discovery of fake birth registrations linked to foreigners involved in criminal activities.
Gatchalian emphasized that the PSA’s role should go beyond merely accepting applications, particularly in rural areas where obtaining vital documents can be a significant challenge. “It should not just be a ministerial task of receiving applications. If you’re from the province, it’s really difficult to get documents,” he said during a consultative meeting by the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights on the proposed Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Act.
He cited the city government of Valenzuela as an example, where officials noticed that many factory workers in the area lacked birth certificates, which hindered their ability to engage in public and financial transactions. To address this, Valenzuela deployed dedicated personnel to help individuals complete the requirements for late registration, including obtaining affidavits from two disinterested persons and securing statements from traditional midwives, or “hilots,” who attended their births.
While Gatchalian supported this community-based approach, he also urged the PSA to balance helping unregistered individuals with ensuring that the late registration process is not exploited by unscrupulous individuals or groups, as in the case of Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, also known as Alice Guo, who fraudulently obtained a birth certificate.
“This proactive framework provides a way to improve accessibility and inclusivity, helping citizens fully participate in economic and legal systems by removing barriers to civil registration,” Gatchalian said.
He also highlighted the role of corruption in the issue, noting that those who obtain fraudulent birth certificates likely have connections within the system. “They wouldn’t have the courage to do it if they didn’t have someone in the syndicate inside,” he said, referring to corrupt civil registrars and employees.
