Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2206

House Bill No.

Introduced by Hon, Sol Aragones

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Civil registration establishes the identity and records the significant events in the life
of a person which are essential in the recognition and protection of his civil rights and
liberties. It is a means by which the citizenship of a person is established and given official
recognition, and a system in which a person's rights are given due respect.

A system of civil registration collects and collates accurate demographic and other
vital data crucial to the crafting of official policy as well as to the delivery of basic services
such as health, infrastructure, education and social services.

Given the foregoing, the introduction and implementation of a comprehensive and
responsive system of civil registration is highly exigent as the current civil registration
system dismally suffers from deficiencies and flaws that deprive individuals of their inherent
right to identity and recognition, thereby denying them also of their civil rights.

Present official data shows that we have not achieved 100 percent registration of
births. Estimates have it that the births of over 2.6 million Filipino children have not been
registered. That number does not include millions of Filipino adults and a significant number
of indigenous peoples whose births have also not been registered.

Poverty, illiteracy, and distance have consistently been compounding the problem,
exacerbated further by some individuals and medical institutions tasked to register these
events but delay or refuuse to do so because of unpaid financial obligation. These situations
are tantamount to deprivation of rights by reason of poverty.

To address these social injustices, this measure provides for a comprehensive and
responsive civil registration, anchored on the establishment of a grassroots-based Barangay
Civil Registration System, a Free Delayed Registration Program for unregistered births due to
poverty, and a Free Delayed Registration for Indigenous Peoples.


In view of the foregoing, the enactment of this measure is earnestly sought.

ny
GONES
ird District of Laguna



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. pets

Introduced by Hon. Sol Aragones

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM
IN THE PHILIPPINES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Civil
Registration Act of 2017."

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State shall promote and maintain a more
comprehensive and responsive civil registration system. Towards this end, the standardization
and modernization of registration procedures are necessary to establish the identity of the
individual for administrative and legal purposes. Moreover, efficient and simplified
procedures in recording vital events must be applied in civil registration for the benefit of the
general public,

SECTION 3. Coverage ~ This Act shall encampass all acts affecting the civil status
of persons in the Philippines and all Filipinos living abroad.

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. ~ For the purposes of this Act, the following shall
be defined as:


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(a) “Civil Registration" refers to the continuous, permanent and compulsory
documentation of occurrence and characteristics of vital events including any modification
thereof during the lifetime of a person, namely births, deaths, marriages, judicial and
administrative orders and legal instruments;

(b) "Civil Register” refers to the various civil registry books where events and judicial
decrees concerning the civil status of persons are recorded, and to related certificates and
documents kept in the archives of the Local Civil Registry Office, Philippine Consulates,
Philippine Statistics Authority and Shari'a District or Circuit Courts;

(©)
civil status of persons which are recorded and kept in the archives of the Local Civil Registry

| Registry Documents" refers to all certificates and documents relating to

Office, Philippine Consulates, Philippine Statistics Authority and Shari'a District or Circuit
Courts;

(d) "Civil Registrar General" refers to the head of the Philippine Statistics Authority;

(e) "Civil Registrar" refers to the head of the Local Civil Registrar Office (LCRO) or
the City or Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR), the Consul General, Consul or Vice Consul
and the Clerk of the Shari'a District or Circuit Courts;

(f) "District or Circuit Registrar” refers to the clerk of the Shari'a District or Circuit
Court performing civil registration functions with regard to Muslim marriages, divorces,
revocations of divorce and conversions under Title VI, Book Two of Presidential Decree No.
1083, otherwise known as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws;

(g) "Barangay Civil Registration System" refers to a strategy to facilitate civil
registration at the barangay level where all barangay officials shall assist the C/MCR in civil
registration work, as provided for under Section 394 (d)(5), Republic Act No. 7160,
otherwise known as the Local Government Code of the Philippines; and

(h) "Legal Instrument" refers to the affidavits/affirmation pertaining to civil

registration.


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SECTION 5. Duties and Functions of the Civil Registrar General. ~ The Civil
Registrar General shall have the following duties and functions:

(a) Enforce the provisions of this Act;

(b) Prepare and issue rules and regulations pertaining to civil registration;

(©) Exercise technical direction and supervision over the C/MCRs and other local civil
registry officers;

(d) Give orders and instructions to the C/MCRs on civil registration;

(©) Endorse for investigation any complaint for violation of this Act and all
irregularities to the local chief executive and other duly authorized agencies;

(f) Reproduce and issue documents under its custody and prepare and order the
printing of necessary forms; and

(g) Determine and prescribe standard fees for civil registry documents.

SECTION 6. Duties of the City/Municipal Civil Registrar. ~ The appointment of the
C/MCRs shall be mandatory for city and municipal governments. The C/MCR shall be
responsible for the civil registration programs in the local government unit (LGU) pursuant to
this Act and other pertinent laws and implementing rules and regulations. The C/MCR shall
develop plans and strategies and upon approval thereof by the governor or mayor, as the case
may be, and implement the same, particularly those which have to do with civil registry
programs and projects which the mayor is empowered to implement and which the
Sanggunian is empowered to provide for. The C/MCR shall have the following functions:

(a) Register all registrable events occurring within their jurisdiction of the LGU;

(b) File registrable certificates and documents presented to them for entry;

(c) Compile the registrable certificates and documents monthly and prepare and send
any information required of them by the Civil Registrar General;

(d) Issue certified transcripts or copies of any certificate or documents registered

during the year;

(e) Classify, digitize, bind, and preserve all registered documents in accordance with
the appropriate archiving procedures;


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(f) Send to the Civil Registrar General within the first ten (10) days of each month, a
copy of entries made during the preceding month;
(g) Index all entries to facilitate search and identification in case any information is

required;

(h) Administer oaths for civil registry purposes free of charge;

(i) Accept all registrable documents and judicial orders affecting the civil status of

persons;

(j) File, keep and preserve in a secure place the books required by law:

(k) Transcribe and enter immediately upon receipt all registrable documents and

judicial orders affecting the civil status of persons in the appropriate civil registry books;

(I) Receive applications for the insurance of a marriage license and, after determining
that the requirements, supporting certificates and publication thereof for the prescribed period
have been complied with, issue the license upon payment of the authorized fee to the

treasurer;

(m) Coordinate with the Office of the Civil Registrar General (OCRG) in conducting
education campaigns for civil registration and assist in the preparation of demographic and
other statistics for the LGU concerned;

(n) Recommend to the Civil Registrar General systems and procedures relative to the
formulation of policies, rules and regulations on civil registration;

(0) Submit status reports on the condition of civil registry documents filed in the civil
registry office whenever there are changes in the previous status of files;

(p) Observe faithful compliance to rules and regulations pertaining to civil

registration;


(q) Reconstruct destroyed or lost civil registry records upon compliance with the
2 requirements and procedures established by the OCRG; and

3 (®) Make available at all times the civil registry forms in the C/MCR office.

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SECTION 7. Civil Registry Book — The C/MCR shall keep and preserve in their
5 offices the following books in which they shall accordingly enter the proper record

6 concerning the civil status of person:

7 (1) Register of Births;
8 (2) Register of Foundlings;
9 (3) Register of Deaths;
10 (4) Register of Marriages:
ul (5) Register of Court Decrees or Orders;
12 (6) Register of Legal Instruments;
13 (7) Register of Applications for Marriage License;
14 (8) Register of Conversions to Islam;
15 (9) Register of Muslim Divorces;
16 (10) Register of Revocation of Muslim Divorces;
17 (11) Register of Indigenous Cultural Communities or Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs)
18 Marriage Dissolutions;
19 (12) Register of ICCs/IPs Revocation of Marriage Dissolutions; and
20 (13) Register of Administrative Orders.
21 SECTION 8. Registration and Certification of Birth, ~ The declaration of the

22 physician, midwife, attendant at birth, or in the absence thereof, the declaration of either or
23 both parents or any person who has knowledge of the facts of birth of the new-born child
24 — shall be sufficient for the registration of birth in the civil register. The duly accomplished
25 — Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) containing the above declaration shall be submitted for
26 registration to the C/MCR of the place where the birth occurred within thirty (30) days from
27 the date of birth by the person making the declaration. The COLB shall declare the following:

28 (a) name of the child;
29 (b) sex;


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(c) date of birth;

(d) place of birth;

(d) name of mother;

(0 name of father;

(g) citizenship of the mother;

(h) citizenship of the father;

(i) date of marriage of parents;

() place of marriage of parents; and

(k) such other data as required in the regulation to be issued.

Abandoned children or foundlings whose parents, guardians or relatives are unknown,
or children committed to an orphanage or a charitable institution with unknown facts of birth
and parentage, shall be registered by the finder or charitable institution concerned within
thirty (30) days from the date of finding or commitment of the child with the C/MCR of the
place where such person was born.

‘A deceased person's birth may also be registered on a delayed registration basis by
his/her nearest kin. However, the informant and affiant must show authentic proof of the
identity of the person registered, the facts of his/her birth and parentage, and other relevant
data.

Out-of-town registration of birth may be allowed.

The record of a person's birth shall be kept strictly confidential and no information
relating thereto shall be issued except upon request by any of the following:

(a) The concerned person or any person authorized by him/her;

(b) The person's spouse, parents or direct descendants, or guardian or institutions
legally in charge of him/her, if such a person is a minor;

(©) The court or proper public officials, when deemed absolutely necessary in
administrative, judicial or other official proceedings to determine the identity of the person's
parents or other circumstances surrounding his/her birth; or


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(d) The nearest kin, in the case of deceased persons.

SECTION 9. Barangay Civil Registration System (BCRS). — There shall be
established a Barangay Civil Registration System where elected and appointive barangay
officials shall have the mandate of assisting in the facilitation of civil registration within their
area of jurisdiction subject to the provisions of this Act.

The Office of the Civil Registrar General shall, within ninety (90) days from the
effectivity of this Act, issue guidelines in the implementation of the System which shall
include a regular program for capacity-building of elected and appointive barangay officials

in the performance of their civil registration functions.

The penalties provided for in Section 32 of this Act shall apply to elected and
appointive barangay officials who shall violate the provisions of this Act, its implementing
rules and regulations or the guidelines in the implementation of the Barangay Civil
Registration System.

SECTION 10. Free Delayed Registration and Certification of Birth — Local
government units are mandated to implement a free delayed registration program for persons
whose births have not been registered and certified due to such factors as poverty, distance,
or lack of literacy. The Sangguniang Barangay shall assist in the implementation of the
program through the Barangay Civil Registration System.

The OCRG, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the
National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) shall jointly prepare a Free Delayed
Registration Program for Indigenous Peoples (FDRIP) which shall be implemented by the

local government units and the NCIP regional or local offices in the localities concerned.

Within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the OCRG shall issue
implementing rules and regulations for the free delayed registration and certification of birth

covering the foregoing.

SECTION 11. Registration and Certification of Death. - No human body shall be
buried unless the proper death certificate has been presented and recorded with the C/MCR.


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‘The physician who attended to the deceased or, in his default, the health officer concerned, or
in default of the latter, any member of the family of the deceased, or any person having
knowledge of the death, shall report the same to the local health authorities who shall issue a
death certificate and shall order the same to be recorded with the C/MCR.

‘The death certificate shall be accomplished by the attending physician or, in his or her
absence, the proper health officer. It shall contain the following data which may be furnished
by the person reporting the death:

(a) full name of the deceased;

(b) sex;

(c) civil status;

(@) nationality;

(e) date of death;

(f) place of death;

(g) cause of death; and

(h) such other data that may be required.

The surname used by the deceased person, when still living, will be the surname to be
used in the death certificate. Registration shall be made within thirty (30) days from the time
death with the C/MCR of the place where the death occurred.

In the absence of the health officer or his authorized representative in the place of
registration, or when it is a nonworking day and the health officer or his authorized
representative is not expected to be in his/her office, the death should be reported within
forty-eight (48) hours after its occurrence by the nearest kin of the deceased or by any person
having knowledge of the death to the mayor, any member of Sangguniang Bayan, or the
municipal secretary, who shall issue and sign the medical certification portion of the
Certificate of Death tor burial and registration purposes.

When the death is under medico-legal examination, or where a case of death is under
investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) or other investigative agency of
the government, and where the body of the deceased is subjected to an autopsy or
examination by the medico-legal officers and the deceased has not been registered in the
place of death, the head of the NBI or other investigative agency or their authorized


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representatives shall cause the registration of such death through the health officer of the city
or municipality where the death occurred. The medico-legal officer shall accomplish and sign
the medical certification of the Certificate of Death.

Registration of fetal death shall follow the same procedures in the registration of
death. A death not registered within the prescribed thirty (30)-day period may be allowed
delayed registration with the C/MCR of the place where the death occurred.

Out-of-town registration of death may also be allowed.

SECTION 12. Registration of Marriage License. — The local civil registrar concerned
shall enter all applications for marriage licenses filed with him/her in a registry book strictly
in the order in which the same are received. He/she shall record in said book the names of the
applicants, the date on which the marriage license was issued and such other data as may be

necessary.

SECTION 13. Application for Marriage License. — All applications for marriage
license shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of Executive Order No. 209, otherwise
known as the Family Code of the Philippines, as amended.

SECTION 14. Registration and Certification of Marriage. — All civil officers,
priests, ministers, wali, imam and tribal leaders authorized to solemnize marriage shall send
four copies of the Certificate of Marriage for registration with the C/MCR of the place where

the marriage was solemnized withit

fifteen (15) days after the marriage. Marriages exempt
from the license requirement shall be registered within thirty (30) days after the marriage in
the city or municipality where it was solemnized.

‘A person whose marriage has not yet been registered with the C/MCR of the place
where the marriage was solemnized or celebrated may be allowed delayed registration.

Out-of-town registration of marriage may also be allowed.

SECTION 15. Multiple Registrations. — In cases of multiple registration of birth,
marriage or death, the first duly registered document shall prevail. However, in cases of


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multiple marriages occurring to the same parties, it shall be the first valid marriage that shall

prevail.

SECTION 16. Registration of Solemnizing Officers. — Except as may otherwise be
provided by law or existing rules, all solemnizing officers shall be registered with the Office
of the Civil Registrar General. The C/MCRs may assist the local chief executive in
determining documents pertaining to the existence of religious sects.

SECTION 17. Registration of Court Orders. — In cases where court issues an order
concerning the status of a person, it shall be duty of the clerk of court to advise the successful
petitioner to have the order registered with the C/MCR of the place where the court is
functioning.

If a person other than the petitioner shall register the order, the C/MCR shall verify if
the copy of the order is authentic. Unverified copies shall be refused registration. The LCRO
where the event of the order was registered shall forward a certified true copy of the order to
the C/MCR where the event affected was originally registered. The latter shall make the
proper annotations in the documents and in the applicable registry book. He/she shall
likewise send a certified true copy of the annotated document and the registered court order
to the OCRG. Each corrected document shall be reported to the OCRG during the usual
reporting month.

All court orders shall be registered within fifteen (15) days after its finality.
Registration after the prescribed period shall be considered delayed registration.

All court orders shall be effected through annotations in the civil registry document
except in adoption cases where the child shall be entitled to the issuance of an amended birth

certificate.

SECTION 18. Registration of Adoption. — After the court decision on an adoption
has become final and executory, the Origin al Certificate of Live Birth shall be amended. An
amended certificate of live birth of the adopted shall be issued by the C/MCR of the place
where the birth of the adopted child was recorded. It shall have the same entries as those
appearing in the original records of birth, except for the following items of information:

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(a) Name of the adopted ~ the first name of the adopted child shall be the same as that
in the original certificate of live birth unless the order of adoption carried an order changing it
to another name. The middle name of the adopted child shall be the same as the middle name
of the adopter, except when the husband and the wife jointly adopted the child, in which case,
the middle name of the adopted shall be the surname of the adopting mother. The sumame of
the adopted child shall be that of the adopter. If the husband and wife jointly adopted the
child, the adopted child shall use the surname of the adopting father;

(b) Names of parents ~ the names of the natural parents of the adopted child shall be
substituted by the names of the adopting parents whose names shall be indicated in the
appropriate spaces in the amended certificate of live birth as the father or mother, as the case
may be; and

(c) Other information — other information about the adopting parents such as
citizenship and religion shall be indicated in the appropriate spaces in the amended certificate
of live birth, including the date and place of marriage of the adopting parents, in cases where
the husband and wife jointly made the adoption.

In case the adopted child is a foundling, the basis for issuance of an amended
certificate of live birth shall be the court order.

SECTION 19. Registration of Presumptive Death. — A judicial order or decree
declaring a person presumably dead shall be registered with the C/MCR of the place where
the first marriage was registered. Annotations for the purpose of contracting a subsequent
marriage shall be recorded in the marriage register as well as in the marriage certificate.

SECTION 20. Registration of Court Orders Decided Abroad. ~ All foreign court
orders involving civil status of persons residing in the Philippines shall be registered before
the Local Civil Registry Office where the affected document is registered. In order for the
foreign court order to be binding in the Philippine jurisdiction the same must be confirmed by
the appropriate Regional Trial Court which have the lawful jurisdiction over such case.


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SECTION 21. Registration of Legal Instruments. — As a general rule, all legal
instruments shall be registered in the civil registry of the place where they were executed

except the following:

(a) Affidavit of reappearance — where the parties to the subsequent marriage are
residing;

(b) Marriage Settlement — where the marriage was recorded;

(c) Admission of Paternity, Acknowledgment, Legitimation, Voluntary Emancipation
of Minor, Artificial Insemination — where the birth of the child was recorded.

All legal instruments executed abroad shall be registered in the Office of Civil
Registry in Manila including all legal instruments which may be executed in the Philippines
if the vital events referred to in the latter instruments occurred in a foreign country and duly
registered with the Philippine Consulate.

All legal instruments shall be affected through annotation in the civil registry

document.

SECTION 22. Registration of Affidavit of Reappearance. — A sworn statement of the
facts and circumstances of reappearance shall be recorded in the civil registry office of the
residence of the parties to the subsequent marriage at the instance of any interested person,
with due notice to the spouses of the subsequent marriage and without prejudice to the fact of
reappearance being judicially determined in case such fact is disputed.

SECTION 23. Registration of Affidavit of Acknowledgement or Affidavit of
Admission of Paternity. ~ It shall be duty of the parents who executed the affidavit of
acknowledgment or of admission of paternity to send the original copy of the affidavit to the
C/MCR where the birth of the child was registered, for registration in the Register of Legal
Instruments and proper annotation in the Register of Births.

SECTION 24. Authorization or Ratification of Artificial Insemination. — Children
conceived as a result of artificial insemination of the wife with the sperm of the husband or
that of a donor or both shall be considered legitimate children of the husband and wife;
Provided, That both of them authorized or ratified such insemination in a written instrument

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executed and signed by both of them before the birth of the of the child. The instrument shall
be recorded in the civil register together with the birth certificate of the child.

SECTION 25. Option to Elect Philippine Citizenship. - The option to elect
Philippine citizenship in accordance with Section (3), Article IV of the Constitution shall be
expressed in a statement to be signed and sworn to by the party concerned before any officer
authorized to administer oaths, and shall be filed and registered with the C/MCR of the place
where the instrument was executed. Election of Philippine citizenship executed, subscribed
and sworn to before a Consular Officer of the Philippine Embassy abroad, together with the
oath of allegiance, shall be registered with the LCRO of Manila.

SECTION 26. Registration of Repatriation. — The instrument of repatriation and oath
of allegiance to the Constitution and the government of the Philippines shall be filed with the
C/MCR of the place where the instrument was executed; Provided, That if the Philippine
citizenship is reacquired by naturalization, the order of the court granting citizenship shall be
recorded in the Register of Court Order.

SECTION 27. Registration of Muslim Filipinos, Indigenous Cultural Communities
(ICCs) or Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and Children in Need of Special Protection (CNSP). —
Muslim Filipinos, ICCs/IPs and CNSP, by reason of their socio-cultural, religious and
peculiarities shall be registered as follows:

(a) Muslim Filipinos civil registration shall be governed by Presidential Decree No.
1083, Executive Order NO. 157 and Administrative Order No. I, Series of 2005;

(b) ICC/IP civil registration shall be governed by Republic Act No. 8371 and
Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 2004; and

(©) CNSP civil registration shall follow the procedures provided under the OCRG
Memorandum Circular 2004-01 and other promulgations by the OCRG in coordination with
the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other concerned agencies.

SECTION 28. Civil Registry Documents are Public Documents. ~ The registry books
of all civil register and all documents relating thereto shall be considered public documents


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and shall be prima facie evidence of the truth of the facts therein contained. They shall be
open to the public during office hours and shall be kept in a secured place that shall be
furnished to the civil registrar at the expense or thru the funds of the municipality concerned.

The civil registrar shall not, under any circumstances, permit any document
entrusted to them and under their care to be removed from his/her office, except upon lawful
order of the court, in which case the proper receipt shall be secured. The civil registrar may
issue certified copies of any documents filed upon payment of proper fees fixed by municipal
ordinance.

SECTION 29. Expenses of the Office of the Civil Registrar. — All expenses in
connection with the establishment and operations of the civil registrar's office shall be paid
out of municipal funds and for this purpose, the Sanggunian of municipalities or cities
concerned shall make the necessary appropriation available.

SECTION 30. Fees. — Registration of births, foundlings, deaths, and marriages is
mandatory and compulsory and shall be free of charge. For registration of court orders, legal
instruments and registrable administrative orders, a standard fee shall be collected.

The local government unit may collect reasonable service fees. For issuance of copies

of civil registry documents, a standard fee shall be collected.

SECTION 31. False Statements. — Any person who shall knowingly make false
statements in the furnished forms and present the same for entry in the civil registers shall be

penalized in accordance with law.

SECTION 32. Failure to Report and other Violations. ~ Any person whose duty is to
report any fact concerning the civil status of person and who knowingly fails to perform such
duty, or any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be punished in accordance with

law.

Any violation of the proceeding provisions shall be penalized by imprisonment of one
year or a fine ranging from Twenty-thousand pesos (P20,000.00) to Thirty-thousand pesos
(P30,000.00) or both, at the discretion of the court.


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The attending physician, nurse, midwife, hospital administrator or any person in
charge of the certificate of live birth and other documents necessary in support thereto or in
relation therewith who knowingly fails to deliver, or withholds the delivery of, these
documents to the C/MCR shall be penalized by imprisonment of not more than six months or
a fine of not more than or a fine ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) to Thirty
thousand pesos (P30,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court.

The attending physician, hospital administrator or any other person in charge of the
certificate of death and other documents necessary in support thereto or in relation therewith
who knowingly fails to deliver, or withholds the delivery of these documents to the C/MCR
shall be penalized by imprisonment of not more than six months or a fine of not more than or
‘a fine of ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) to Thirty thousand pesos
(P30,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court.

Any officer, priest or minister who: (1) solemnizes marriage without being authorized
by the Civil Registrar General; (2) upon solemnizing marriage, refuses to exhibit his
authorization when called upon to do so by the parties, their parents or guardians; (3)
solemnizes or authorizes of a marriage that is subsequently declared void by his/her church,
religion or sect, due to failure to comply with publications required by the said church,
religion or sect as a prerequisite to the solemnization of marriage; or (4) solemnizes marriage
in violation of the provisions of this Act, shall be punished with imprisonment ranging from
six months to three years, or a fine ranging from Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) to
Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00), or the revocation of his/her authority to solemnize
marriage, or all three penalties or combination thereof, at the discretion of the court.

Any officer, priest or minister who fails to deliver copies of the certificate of marriage
to the C/MCR within the period fixed by law shall be punished by imprisonment of not more
than six months, or by a line of not more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), or both, at
the discretion of the court.

SECTION 33. Withholding of Documents due to Non-payment of Hospital Fees. — In
no case shall the failure to settle hospital bills, in full or in part, be a ground for non-delivery


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or withholding of the certificate of live birth or certificate of death or documents required in

the issuance of the said certificates.

SECTION 34. Mandatory Review. ~ This Act shall undergo a mandatory review of
its by Congress every ten (10) years to make the laws more responsive to the needs of times.

SECTION 35. Separability Clause. ~ If any part ot provision of this Act shall be held
to be invalid or unconstitutional, other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected

thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 36. Repealing Clause. — All laws, rules, regulations, orders, memoranda,
circulars inconsistent with this Act are hereby revoked, repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 37. Retroactivity. ~ This Act shall have retroactive effect insofar as it does
not prejudice or impair vested or acquired rights.

SECTION 38. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in any two national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,