Sen. Joel Villanueva emphasized the need to provide efficient civil registration services to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) following reports of a lack of ready access to their records.

Villanueva, principal sponsor and author of the Department of Migrant Workers Act said that Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1019 was the product of consultations with OFWs in Hong Kong during the senator’s working visit last March.

“Ang paglapit at pagpapadali ng serbisyo ng pamahalaan sa ating mga bagong bayani ang ating regalo para masuklian ang kanilang kontribusyon sa pag-unlad ng ekonomiya ng bansa (Providing better access to government services to our modern heroes is our gift to them to pay back their contributions to improving the country's economy),” the senator said.

The senator lamented reports from OFWs on the difficulties that they have experienced in the administrative correction of their civil registration records and was told to return to the Philippines instead and go to the appropriate government agency to process their request.

Villanueva said Republic Act No. 9048 (An Act Authorizing the City or Municipal Registrar or the Consul General to Correct a Clerical or Typographical Error in an Entry and/or Change of First Name in the Civil Register Without Need of a Judicial Order) should come to life and aid OFWs in their needs.

The law provides an administrative process to correct clerical errors, whereby local civil registrars or consul generals can correct or change "clerical or typographical errors and change of first name or nickname, the day and month in the date of birth or sex of a person where it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or a mistake in the entry."

Quoting a survey conducted with OFWs, Villanueva said that only 37 percent receive paid vacation leave.

"This makes it improbable for OFWs to use their scarce time with family and friends in their homeland solely to rectify their civil registration records with local civil registrars," he said.

The senator added that the process for administrative correction of civil registry entries is time-consuming, with an average completion period of six months, which compounds the challenges faced by OFWs who have often limited opportunities for extended stays in the Philippines due to their work commitments abroad.

Filipinos living and working abroad should have access to civil registration services, which are essential to guarantee equal access for all citizens—regardless of location—to government services tied to civil registration," Villanueva said.

"As we celebrate Migrant Workers’ Day this June 7th, it is high time that we make this process more accessible to our bagong bayani,” he said.