HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Republic of the Philippines RECEMNWVED
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, ar IN onde
Quezon City pate: SU JUN 2015
ine:_[2 Ye

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

BY:

House Bill No, _ 48 | REGISTRATION UNIT
} BILLS AND INREY SERVICE

Introduced by Rep, LAWRENCE LEMUEL H, FORTUN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to establish a comprehensive and more responsive civil registration system
in the country.

Civil registration provides the means for the establishment of the identity and the
recording of the vital events in the life of a person which are essential in the recognition and
protection of his civil rights. It is necessary system by which the citizenship of a person is
established and his or her inherent rights as a person are respected.

Also importantly, civil registration affords accurate demographic data and other vital
information that are crucial to the government’s planning and policy decisions as well as the
delivery of such basic services as health, infrastructure, education and social services.

Because of the enormous importance, there is a pressing need to introduce and implement
a comprehensive and truly responsive civil registration system, The sad fact, however, is that
our current civil registration system suffers from deficiencies and flaws that deprive individuals
of their inherent right to identity and recognition as citizens, thereby denying them also of their
civil rights. In the Philippines, reports have shown that we have not achieved 100 percent
registration of births. Estimates have it that presently the births of over 2.6 million Filipino
children have not been registered, not to mention the millions of Filipino adults, including a
significant number of indigenous peoples, whose births have also not been registered. The
reasons for most of these cases have consistently been due to poverty, distance and lack of
literacy.

The situation is further exacerbated by some individuals and medical institutions tasked
to register these events but delay or refuse to do so because of unpaid financial obligation on the
part of the family of the new-born child, This is also true in the case of deaths of persons whose
families could not immediately settle in full their obligation to hospitals or clinics. ‘These are
tantamount to deprivation of rights by reason of poverty.

This measure thus provides for, among other mechanism for comprehensive and
responsive civil registration, a Barangay Civil Registration System, Free Delayed Registration
Program for unregistered births due to poverty and Free Delayed Registration for Indigenous
Peoples.

In view of the foregoing, passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

LAWRENC RYUN
1* Dist


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

48

House Bill No.

Introduced by Rep. LAWRENCE LEMUEL H. FORTUN

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE CIVIL REGISTRATION SYSTEM

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Civil Registration Act of 2016.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State shall promote and maintain a more
comprehensive and responsive civil registration system. Towards this end, 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 law embrace all acts affecting the civil status of persons in the
Philippines and all Filipinos abroad.

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. ~ (a) “Civil Registration” refers to the continuous,
permanent and compulsory 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 ju
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.

(©) “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 Sharia District or Circuit Courts.

(d) “Civil Registrar General” refers to the head of the National Statistics Office.
(©) “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
Shari'a District or Circuit Courts.

(A) “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 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 provision of this Act;

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

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

(d) Give orders and instruction to the C/MCRs 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.

Section 6, Duties of the City/Municipal Civil Registrar (C/MCR), ~ The appointment of the
CIMCRs 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, 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 shalt:

(a) Register all registrable events occurring with their jurisdiction of the local government
unit;

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

(©) 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

2, properly classified or digitized, of all certificates or documents
registered during the year,

(A) 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;

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

(k) Transcribe and enter immediate upon receipt all registrable documents and judicial
decrees affecting the civil status of person 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
requirements and procedures established by the OCRG; and

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

(e)

Section 7. Civil Registry Book, ~ The C/MCR shall keep and preserve in their offices the
following books in which they shall accordingly enter the proper record concerning the civil
status of person: (1) Register of Births; (2) Register of Foundlings; (3) Register of Deaths; (4)


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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 Revocation of Muslim Divorces; (11)
Register of Indigenous Cultural Communities or Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) Marriage
Dissolutions; (12) Register of ICCs/IPs Revocation of Marriage Dissolutions; and (13) Register
of Administrative Orders.

Section 8. Registration and Certification of Birth. - The declaration of the physician,
midwife, attendant at birth, or in the absence thereof, the declaration of either or both parents or
any person who has knowledge of the facts of birth of the new-born 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; (4) place of birth; (4) name of mother; (f) name of father; (g) citizenship of the
mother; (h) citizenship of the father, (i) date of marriage of parents; (j) 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 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, parent/s or direct descendants, or guardian or institutions legally-in-
charge of him/her, if such a person is a minor;

(c) 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

(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 training a capacity-building for elected and appointed 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 appointed
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


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The ORCG, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National
Commission on 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. 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 (o 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 (1) full name of the
deceased; (b) sex; (d) civil status; (e) nationality; (f) 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
death with the C/MCR of the place where the death ocourred

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
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 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) days 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 matviage 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


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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,

Section 15. 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

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 of court issues an order conceming the
status of @ 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 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 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 cettificate 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


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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.

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 Patemity, 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

ection 23, Registration of Affidavit of Acknowledgement or Affidavit of Admission of
Paternity. - It shall be 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 were 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 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.

n 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.


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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 sociocultural, religious and peculiarities shall
be registered as follows:

@, Muslim Filipinos civil registration shall be governed by Presidential Decree No. 1083,
Executive Order NO. 157 and Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2005,

b. ICCS/IPs civil registration shall be governed by Republic Act No, 8371 and
Administrative Order No. 3, Series of 2004

©. 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 making up
the civil register and all 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 and
his/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.

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 Sangguinian 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. 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 disoretion 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
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


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
ofa marriage that is subsequently declared void by his/her church, religion or sect, due to failure
to comply with banns or publications required by the said church, religion or sect as a pre-
requisite 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 (P2,000.00) 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 fine of not more than Ten
thousand pesos (P10,000,00), or both, at the discretion of the court.

Section 33, Non-payment not a ground for withholding of documents.» In no case shall
failure to settle hospital bills, in full or in part, be a ground for non-delivery or withholding of the
certificate of live birth or certificate of death or documents required in the issuance the said
certificates,

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

Section 35, Separability 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.

Section 36. Repealing Clause. - All laws, rules, regulations, orders, memoranda or 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,