Bill filed to modernize almost century-old Civil Registry Act

MANILA – Lawmakers on Tuesday filed a measure seeking to make birth, death and marriage registration fully digital, inclusive and accessible to all Filipinos.

House Bill No. 5213, also known as the Philippine Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Act, seeks to modernize the country’s civil registration system through a comprehensive reform of Republic Act No. 3753, or the Philippine Civil Registry Act of 1930, according to a news release.

It aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council agenda for Public Administration and Civil Services.

The measure envisions a fully digital, inclusive and responsive CRVS system that guarantees universal registration of births, deaths and marriages.

It will include 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.

Under the measure filed by Tingog Party-list Representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez, Andrew Julian Romualdez and Jude Acidre, the registrations 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 Civil Registration and Vital Statistics 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 to facilitate registration at the community level, ensuring no Filipino is excluded from documentation due to distance, poverty, or displacement.

“Legal identity is the first public service and the gateway to all others. When a child’s birth is registered, we unlock a lifetime of rights — healthcare, education, protection from exploitation, and access to opportunity,” Rep. Yedda Romualdez said.

“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.” — Zaldy De Layola (PNA)