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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider More than just paperwork: Tingog Party-list eyes update to century-old Civil Registry Act

More than just paperwork: Tingog Party-list eyes update to century-old Civil Registry Act

Published Oct 9, 2025 06:47 pm

At A Glance

  • A measure seeking to modernize the century-old Civil Registry Act has been filed in the current 20th Congress.
The House plenary (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The House plenary (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


A measure seeking to modernize the century-old Civil Registry Act has been filed in the current 20th Congress.
The proposed Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Act, embodied in House Bill (HB) No.5213, was filed by Tingog Party-list representatives led by Yedda Marie Romualdez.
The measure is aligned with President Marcos' Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) agenda for public administration and civil services..
The measure seeks to modernize the country’s civil registration system through a comprehensive reform of Republic Act (RA) No. 3753, or the Philippine Civil Registry Act of 1930.
It envisions a fully digital, inclusive, and responsive Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system that guarantees universal registration of births, deaths, and marriages, as well as other acts, events, decrees, and issuances affecting the civil status of persons in the Philippines, and of all Filipino citizens abroad, while strengthening the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as the lead implementing agency.
Romualdez emphasized the importance of legal identity as a foundation of social protection and development: “Legal identity is the first public service and the gateway to all others," she said.
"When a child’s birth is registered, we unlock a lifetime of rights—healthcare, education, protection from exploitation, and access to opportunity. By modernizing our civil registration and vital statistics system, we are making a clear commitment: no Filipino will be invisible to the State because of poverty, distance, or displacement. This bill transforms paperwork into protection, and data into dignity,” she explained.
Under HB No.5213, the registration of all births, deaths, and marriages shall be free of charge and simplified through a fully digitized process, including mobile and barangay-level registration systems.
It also mandates professionalization and continuing education for local civil registrars, training for physicians and local health officers on medical certification of deaths, and coordination among government agencies through a CRVS Inter-Agency Cooperation Committee.
The bill directs the PSA to reorganize its Civil Registration Service into a new Civil Registration Office headed by a Deputy Civil Registrar General, with strengthened regional and field offices.
It also establishes the Barangay Civil Registration System (BCRS) to facilitate registration at the community level, ensuring no Filipino is excluded from documentation due to distance, poverty, or displacement.
Tingog Party-list stressed that the modernization of the country’s CRVS system will not only simplify transactions but also generate accurate and timely data for policymaking, disaster response, and social welfare programs.
Also authoring the bill were Romualdez's fellow nominees Rep. Andrew Julian Romualdez and Rep. Jude Acidre.
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