CALASIAO, Pangasinan – Better late than never. A 99-year-old woman, Estepania N. Descalzo, also known as “Lola Panyang,” from Aguilar, this province, recently received her birth certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 99 years after she was born in 1923. ESTEPANIA N. Descalzo receives her birth certificate from the PSA 99 years after she was born in 1923. (PSA photo) Descalzo’s birth was finally registered last December through the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) Birth Registration Assistance Project (PBRAP) of PSA and the initiative of the Local Civil Registry Office of Aguilar. Her Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) in Security Paper (SECPA) was personally delivered to her residence in Aguilar. The document was handed to her by officials and employees of the PSA Regional Statistical Services Office 1 (RSSO 1), PSA Pangasinan, and the local government unit (LGU) of Aguilar. Carmelita Bravo, Descalzo’s daughter, said her mother was not registered by her parents after she was born because they were always busy in their farm which was their source of livelihood. Descalzo was only 18 when she got married to Domingo Sendin who died 10 years ago. “Kinasal sila noong 1941 sa edad na 18-years-old. However, hindi pa raw po istrikto noon sa government requirements gaya ng birth certificate. Hanggang sa hindi na po niya namalayan ‘yung panahon (My parents got married when they were 18. The government was not strict about requirements like a birth certificate then. She was not able to give it attention until passed by),” Bravo said. Rosemarie Ortaleza, birth registration agent of PSA Pangasinan, said Descalzo is the oldest beneficiary of the PBRAP program. Ortaleza is optimistic that by 2024, at least 99.5 percent of all Filipinos would have their birth registered with local authorities under PBRAP. “Under this project, the requirements for late registration were relaxed and fees were waived by the concerned LGU,” she said. Ortaleza noted that among the primary recipients of the program are persons in marginalized communities, indigenous peoples, Muslim Filipinos, the poorest sector in the country, and persons currently living outside their place of birth. She added that an individual who has a COLB will be able to be enrolled with the Philippine Identification System. Eight-hundred seventy-one individuals in this province have been registered through the program and are now awaiting their birth certificates. Descalzo and her family thanked the PSA and LGU Aguilar for implementing the program that she was able to avail of before turning 100-years-old or a centenarian this year.