Republic of the Philippines 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
S E N A T E  
Bill No. 
8 
Introduced by Senator FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
It is undeniably a State policy to promote and maintain a responsive 
civil regishation system equipped with efficient and simple sets of procedure 
for the listing of vital occurrences and characteristics of a person such as birth, 
marriage, death and judicial and administrative orders. 
This bill is but in accord with the above State policy. It provides for a 
comprehensive registration system of an individual’s civil status. Such 
comprehensiveness involves a detailed enumeration of the powers and 
functions of Civil Registrars as well as the procedures involved in 
registration. 
In view of the foregoing, the undersigned earnestly seeks the 
immediate passage of this bill. 
FRANCIS 6. 
ESCUDERO 


Republic of the Philippines 
1 
FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 
I 
First Regular Session 
1 
SENATE 
I 
__’ 
Introduced by Senator FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR A MORE RESPONSIVE CNIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM 
Be it eriacfed by the Sewnfe and House of REpresentntivrs oftlie Philippines in Congress ffisernbled: 
Registration Act of 2007”. 
SEC. 2. Declavation of Policy. - The State shall promote and maintain a 
more responsive civil registration system. Towards this end, standardization and 
modernization of registration procedures is 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.] 
of persons in the Philippines and all Filipinos abroad. 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the ”Civil 
SEC. 3. Cuvevage. - This law shall embrace all acts affecting the civil staim 
SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. - (a) ”Civil Registration” refers to the 
continuous, permanent and compdsory documentation of occurrence and 
characteristics of vital events, including any modifications 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, National Statistics 
Office and Shari’a District or Circuit Courts. 
(c) ”Civil Registry Documents” refers to all certificates and documents 
relating to civil status of persons which are recorded and kept in the 
archives of the Local Civil Registry Office, Philippine Consulates, 
National Statistics Office and Shari’a District or Circuit Courts. 
(d) “Civil Registrar General” refers to the head of the National Statistics 
Office. 
(e) “Civil Registrar” refers to the head of the Local Civil Registry Office 
(LCRO) or the City or Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR), the Consul 
General, Consul or Vice Consul and the Clerk of Shari’a District or 
Circuit Courts. 


(f) ”District or Circuit Registrar” refers to the Clerk of 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 the 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. 
(h) ”Legal Instruments” refers to the affidavits/affirmatiom pertaining to 
civil registration. 
SEC. 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; 
(c) Exercise technical direction and supervision over the CjMCXs and 
other local civil regisw officers; 
(d) Give orders and instructions to the C/MCICS on civil registration; 
(e) 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. 
SEC. 6. Duties of 
the City/Municipal Civil Registrar (VMCR). - 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) concerned 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, 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: 
(a) Register all registrable events occurring within their jurisdiction; 
(b) File regisbable 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 document 
registered upon payment of the proper fees; 
(e) Order the binding, properly classified, of all certificates or documents 
registered during the year; 
(9 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 decrees/orders affecting 
the civil status of persons; 
6) File, keep and preserve in a secured place the books required by law; 
(k) Transcribe and enter immediately upon receipt all registrable 
documents and judicial decrees affecting the civil status of persons in 
the appropriate civil registry books; 
(1) Receive applications for the issuance 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 1 General (OCRG) in 
conducting educational campaigns for vital 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 civil registry records upon compliance with the 
requirements and procedures established by the OCRG; and 
(r) Make available at all times the civil registry forms in the C/MCR office. 


SEC. 7. Civil Registry Book. - The C/MCRs shall keep and preserve in their 
offices the following books in which they shall accordingly enter the proper 
record concerning the civil status of persons: (1) Register of Births; (2) Register of 
Foundlings; (3) Register of Deaths; (4) Register of Marriages; (5) Register of Court 
Decrees or Orders; (6) Register of Legal Instruments; (7) Register of Applications 
for Marriage License; (8) Register of Conversions to Islam; (9) Register of Muslim 
Divorces; (10) Register of Revocations of Muslim Divorces; (11) Register of 
Indigenous Cultural Communities or Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) Marriage 
Djssolutions; (12) Register of ICCs/IPs Revocations of Marriage Dissolutions; 
and (13) Register of Administrative Orders. 
SEC. 8. Registration and Certification of Birth. - The declaration of the 
physician, midwife, nurse, attendant at birth, or in default thereof, the 
declaration of either or both parents or any person who has knowledge of the 
facts of birth of the newborn child shall be sufficient for the registration of birth 
in the civil register. The duly accomplished Certificate of Live Birth (COLB) 
containing the above declaration shall be submitted for registration to the 
C/MCR of the place where the birth occurred within thirty (30) days from the 
date of birth by the person making the declaration. The COLB shall declare the 
following: (a) name of the child; (b) sex; (c) date of birth; (d) place of birth; (e) 
name of mother; (f) name of father; (g) citizenship of the mother; (h) citizenship 
of the father; (i) date of marriage of parents; 0) 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 CjMCR of the place where the child was 
found. A person who has not been registered with the C/MCR of the place 
where such person was born within the prescribed period of thirty (30) days may 
be allowed delayed registration. 
A deceased person’s birth may also be registered on a delayed registration 
basis by %/her nearest kin. However, the informant and affiant must show 
authentic proof of the identity of the person registered, the facts of hls/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, parent/s or direct descendants, or guardian or 
institution legally in-charge of him/her, if such person is a minor; 
(c) The court or proper public officials, when deemed absolutely necessary 
in administrative, judicia1 or other official proceedings to determine 
the identity of the person’s parents or other circumstance surroundkg 
his/her birth; or 


(d) The nearest kin, in the case of deceased persons. 
SEC. 9. 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. 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 s h d  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 default, by 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) age; (d) civil status; 
(e) nationality; (4 date of death; (g) place of death; (h) cause of death; and (i) 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 of 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 l&/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 the sangguniang bayan, or the municipal secretary, 
who shall issue and sign the medical certification portion of the Certificate of 
Death for 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 representative 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. 
SEC. 10. 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. 


SEC. 11. 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. 
SEC. 12. Registration and Cert@ation 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 within 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. 
SEC. 13. Multiple Registration. - In cases of multiple registration of birth, 
marriage or death, the first duly registered document shall prevail. However, in 
cases of multiple marriages occurring to the same parties, it shall be the first 
valid marriage that shall prevail. 
SEC. 14. Registuation ofSolemnizing Ofiew. - 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. 
SEC. 15. Registration of Court Orders. - In case a court issues an order 
concerning the status of a person, it shall be the 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 venfy 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 document 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. 
SEC. 16, Registration of Adoption. - After the court decision on an adoption 
has become final and executory, the Original 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: 
(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 surname of the adopted child 
shall be that of the adopter. If the husband and wife jointly adopt 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. 
SEC. 17. 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. 
SEC. 18. Registration of Court Orders Decided Abroad. - All foreign court 
orders involving civil status of persons shall be registered in the LCRO of 
Manila. 
SEC. 19. 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; and 
(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 LCRO of 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 are duly 
registered with the Philippine Consulate. All legal instruments shall be 
effected through annotation in the civiI registry document. 


SEC. 20. Registration of Affidavit of Reappearance. - A sworn statement of the 
facts and circumstances of reappearance shall be recorded in the civil registzy 
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. 
SEC. 21. Registration of Aflidavit of Acknowledgment OY AfSidavit of Admission 
of Paternity. - It shall be the duty of the parent/s 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. 
SEC. 22. Authorization or Ratifcation 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 executed and signed by both of them before 
the birth of the child. The instrument shall be recorded in the civil register 
together with the birth certificate of the child. 
SEC. 23. 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. 
SEC. 24. Registvation of Repatriation. - The instrument of repatriation and 
the 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. 
SEC. 25. Registration of Muslim Filipinos, Indigenous Cultural Communities 
(ICCs) or Indigenous Peuples (IPS) and Children in Need of Special Protection (CNSP). 
- Muslims Filipinos, ICCs/IPs and CNSP, by reason of their sociocultural, 
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. 1, Series of 2005. 
@) ICCs/IPs civil registration shall be governed by Republic Act No. 8371 
and Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 2004. 
(c) CNSP civil registration shall follow the procedures provided under 
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. 
SEC. 26. Barangay Civil Registration System (BCRS). - All elected or 
appointed barangay officials shall assist in the civil registration within their area 
of jurisdiction through the BCRS. The OCRG shall issue guidelines governing the 
implementation of the System. 
SEC. 27. Civil Regisfy Documenfs are Public Documents. - The registry 
books making up the civil register and all documents relating thereto shall be 
considered public documents 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 &/her 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. 
SEC. 28. Expense 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. 
SEC. 29. Fees. - Registration of births, 1 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 LGU may collect reasonable service fees. For issuance 
of copies of civil registry documents, a standard fee shall be collected. 
SEC. 30. False Statements. - Any person who shall knowingly make false 
statements in the forms furnished and present the same for entry in the civil 
registers shall be penalized in accordance with law. 
SEC. 31. Failure to Report and other Violations. - Any person whose duty is 
to report any fact concerning the civil status of persons 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 civil registrar who fails to properly 
perform &/her duties in accordance with the provisions of this Act or of the 
regulations issued there under shall be punished in accordance with law. Any 
violation of the preceding provisions shall be penalized by imprisonment of one 
year or a fine ranging from Five thousand pesos (PW5,OOO.OO) to Ten thousand 
pesos (Phl?10,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court. The attending 
physician, nurse, midwife, hospital administrator or any person in charge of the 
certificate of live birth who knowingly fails or withholds the delivery of copies of 
the certificate to the C/MCR shall be penalized by imprisonment of not more 
than six months or a fine of not more than Five thousand pesos (PhP5,000.00), 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) Authorizes the immediate solemnization of a 
marriage that is subsequently declared illegal by his church, religion or sect, the 
regulations and practices of which require bans or publications previous 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 One thousand pesos (PhP1,OOO.OO) 
to Five thousand pesos (PhP5,000.00), 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 fine of not 
more than Five thousand pesos (PhP5,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the 
court. 
SEC. 32. Mandatory Reviao. - This Act shall undergo a mandatory review 
of its provisions by Congress every ten (10) years. 
SEC. 33. Seprsrability Clause. - If any part or 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. 
SEC. 34. Repealing Clause. - All laws, rules, regulations, orders, 
memoranda or circulars inconsistent with this Act are hereby revoked, repealed 
or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 35. Retroactivity. - This Act shall have retroactive effect insofar as it 
does not prejudice or impair vested or acquired rights. 
SEC. 36. Ef+ctivity. - 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,