TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
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25 JULIO PI :14
SENATE 
S. No. 343
RtCEiVED 8'f.
Introduced by Senator PIA S. CAYETANO
AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR FREE BIRTH REGISTRATION FOR INDIGENT AND 
UNDERPRIVILEGED FILIPINOS
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Article XV Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution provides that the State shall 
defend "the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and 
special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other 
conditions prejudicial to their development."
In relation to this, the right to be recognized as a person before the law and to 
be registered at birth are enshrined in both the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights and the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Birth registration is an 
essential tool for identity recognition, ensuring the child is legally recognized by the 
state and protected under its laws. A child who is not registered at birth is in danger 
of being denied the right to an official identity and a recognized name. As of 2024, 
150 million children worldwide under the age of five, or approximately 2 in every 10, 
remain unregistered and invisible to government systems.1 Based on the records of 
the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), 5 million Filipinos nationwide remained 
unregistered in 2019.2 Out of this, 40% were children aged 0-14 years old.3
1 Birth registration steadily increases worldwide, but 150 million children still 'invisibile' - UNICEF. 
(2024, December 10). UNICEF, https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/birth-registration-steadily- 
increases-worldwide-150-million-children-still-invisible
2 Registered Live Births in the Philippines. 2019. PSA. https://psa.gov.ph/content/registered-live- 
births-philippines-2019
3 Id.


Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) show 
that from January 2017 to November 2018, the government assisted a total of 8,197 
unregistered children including those born by sexually-abused women, trafficked 
Filipinos, and parents seeking asylum.4 These unregistered individuals legally do not 
exist. Consequently, they are denied basic fundamental human rights, with 
unregistered children being the ones immensely affected by the deprivation of basic 
social services such as health care, education, and welfare programs.
Further, one of the main reasons cited for the failure or refusal of parents to 
register the birth of their children is the imposition of fees for registration, the amount 
of which varies in every city or municipality.
As such, this bill seeks to make timely registration of births by indigent and 
underprivileged parents and foundlings free. If enacted into law, this bill will help 
secure the recognition of every person before the law to safeguard the protection of 
individual rights.
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
PIA S; CAY^ANO T
4 Rocamora, J. (9 January 2019). Gov't continues to address cases of unregistered minors abroad. 
pm.
https ://www. pna.gov. ph/articles/1058329


TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
SENATE
S. No. 343
■i ..i f ; :! 
K.
25 JUL 10 PI -.14
fttCElVED BY:
Introduced by Senator PIA S. CAYETANO
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AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR FREE BIRTH REGISTRATION FOR INDIGENT AND
UNDERPRIVILEGED FILIPINOS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:
Section 1. Short Tide. - This Act shall be known as "Free Birth Registration
Act."
Sec. 2. Scope. - Free birth registration shall apply to:
a) Timely Registration of Births, as defined in Sec. 3(d) of this Act, of 
individuals with indigent or underprivileged parents, as certified through 
a Barangay Certificate of Indigency; and
b) All cases of registration of foundling, as provided for under Republic Act 
No. 11767 or the "Foundling Recognition and Protection Act".
This shall not apply to Delayed Registration of Birth, as defined under this Act.
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. -
a) Delayed Registration of Birth - refers to any birth registered more than 
thirty (30) days after the date of birth with the Office of the Civil 
Registrar of the city/municipality where the birth occurred, or as may 
otherwise be provided by law.
b) Foundling - refers to a deserted or abandoned child or infant with 
unknown facts of birth and parentage. This shall also include those who 
have been duly registered as a foundling during her or his infant 
childhood, but have reached the age of majority without benefitting from 
adoption procedures upon the passage of this law.


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c) Live Birth - refers to a complete expulsion or extraction from its mother 
of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of the pregnancy, 
which after such separation, breathes or shows any other evidence of 
life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or 
definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical 
cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. Each product of such a 
birth is considered liveborn.
In accordance with Article 41 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, 
a fetus with an intra-uterine life of seven (7) months or more that is born 
alive at the time it was completely delivered from the maternal womb 
but died later shall be considered as live birth and must be registered in 
the register of births. However, if the fetus had an intra-uterine life of 
less than seven months, it is not deemed born if it dies within twenty- 
four hours after its complete delivery from the maternal womb.
d) Timeiy Registration of Birth - refers to all births registered in the Office 
of the Civil Registrar of the city/municipality where the birth occurred or 
as the case may provide within thirty (30) days from the time of birth.
e) Indigent and underpriviieged Fiiipinos- refer to those whose income falls 
below the poverty threshold as defined by the Department of Economy, 
Planning, and Development (DEVDep) and/or those who cannot afford 
in a sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food, 
health, education, housing, or other essential amenities of life as defined 
under Republic Act No. 8425, otherwise known as the "Social Reform 
and Poverty Alleviation Act."
Sec. 4. Prohibition. - No fees and penalties shall be imposed on Timely 
Registration of Births for individuals with indigent and underprivileged parents, as 
defined in Section 3 of this Act, and in all cases of registration of a Foundling.
Sec. 5. Powers and Duties. -The Office of the Civil Registrar General (OCRG) 
shall monitor the implementation of this Act.
The OCRG shall have the power to determine acts of violation under this law 
and shall recommend the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to 
take appropriate action on such violation.


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Sec. 6. Penalties or Sanctions. - Any local registrar who fails properly to perform 
his or her duties in accordance with Section 5 of this Act and of the regulations issued 
hereunder, shall be punished for the first offense, by an administrative fine in a sum 
equal to his salary for not less than fifteen days nor more than three months, and for 
a second or repeated offense, by removal from the service.
Sec. 7. Repealing Clause. - All other laws, decrees, executive orders, 
presidential issuances, rules and regulations or any part thereof, which are 
inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 8. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason or reasons, any part or 
provisions of this Act shall be declared or held unconstitutional or invalid, other 
provision or provisions hereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in 
full force and effect.
Sec. 9. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general 
circulation.
Approved,