The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the provincial government of Aklan for the conduct of the Birth Registration Project for marginalized communities in the province.
The project is in line with the efforts of PSA to further intensify the campaign to improve civil registration, consistent with the goals of the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Decade for 2015 to 2024.
The MOA was signed by PSA Undersecretary Dennis S. Mapa and Aklan Vice Gov. Reynaldo M. Quimpo on July 8.
The Birth Registration Project for Aklan Province aims to register a total of 10,000 unregistered births of indigenous peoples (lPs) and the poorest sector of the cities and municipalities in Aklan.
It involves the provision of assistance in processing the delayed registration of births of the beneficiaries; facilitating the out-of-town registration of births and other civil registry documents; verification of the existing civil registry records from the PSA Civil Registry System database; and the implementation of the Philippine Civil Registry lnformation System in mobile registrations.
The 10,000 target beneficiaries of this Project will receive copies of their registered birth certificates in security paper free of charge.
"This initiative embarks for a more intensified campaign of the Office of the Civil Registrar General (OCRG) to improve civil registration aligned with the three goals of the 2015 to 2024 CRVS Decade," the PSA said in a statement.
The three goals are--to have universal civil registration of births, deaths, and other vital events; to provide all individuals with legal documentation to claim identity, civil status, and ensuing rights; and to produce and disseminate accurate, complete, and timely vital registration.
PSA said the initiative will also highly impact the lives of Filipino citizens whose unregistered births will be registered with the concerned Local Civil Registry Offices (LCROs).
"The intensified campaign for civil registration of PSA, local government unit, and LCROs to work together will increase our services for birth registration and other civil registry documents," it added.
It also aims to extend its reach to be replicated in other areas of the country to further improve registration at the subnational level.
Also witnessing the signing of MOA were PSA Regional Director Fred S. Sollesta of Regional Statistics Services Office Vl, Marizza B. Grande, PSA OIC-Assistant National Statistician of the Civil Registration Service, and Antonette B. Catubuan, PSA Chief Statistical Specialist of Provincial Statistical Office of Aklan.