32-year-old woman, family with no birth records seek help

A 32-year old woman with no birth certificate is encountering registration problems as her entire family does not have birth records. The Philippine Statistics Authority has a solution to her dilemma.

In a 24 Oras report on Wednesday, Kapuso Action Man Emil Sumangil reported that Yan Alvarando tried to apply for a delayed birth registration at a local civil registry but failed to do so due to the lack of supporting documents.

“Hindi po kami naipa-rehistro ng aking mga magulang. Hindi ko po alam ang dahilan kung bakit,” Alvarando said.

“Yung kakulangan po ng supporting documents kagaya po ng birth certificate po ng mga magulang ko kasi wala po talaga silang record at hindi na po ako nagtataka kung kami'y walang record kasi sila mismo wala rin po,” she added.

(My parents were unable to register us, and I don’t know why. They told me I lacked supporting documents like the birth certificates of my parents because they really didn't have records. I'm not surprised if we don't have a record because they themselves don't have one either.)

Alvarando also said she does not know how to obtain her parents’ birth certificates.

PSA's solution

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the case of the Alvarando family can be addressed through their Birth Registration Assistance Project (BRAP).

According to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, 3.7 million Filipinos have no birth certificates .

Under BRAP, the case of Alvarando and her family will undergo a thorough investigation and process before some requirements under the Memorandum Circular 2024-17 and 17-A are waived.

“We recognize nga na may mga kababayan tayong mahirap talagang mag-produce nung kanilang supporting documents. Then, yung atin pong PSA sa Bicol, sa aming regional office or sa aming probinsya, pwede po kaming mag-facilitate ng out of town na process ng delayed registration,” said Engineer Marizza Grande, PSA-Civil Registration Service assistant national statistician.

(We recognize that some of our countrymen find it difficult to produce supporting documents. The PSA regional office in Bicol or our office in the province can facilitate out-of-town processing of delayed registration.) —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News