Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 104

Introduced by REP. LAWRENCE LEMUEL H. FORTUN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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 civil
rights. It is a necessary system by which the citizenship of a person is established and his or her
inherent rights as a person are recognized, respected and protected.

Further, civil registration facilitates accurate demographic data and other information that
are critical to the government's planning and policy decisions and delivery of essential services
such those in the areas of health, education, social welfare and infrastructure development.
Programs and initiatives aimed at poverty alleviation and inclusive development are more
effectively implemented with reliable statistical bases. Hence, universal registration of births,
deaths, including their causes, and other vital events, provision of legal documentation to
individuals, and the production of accurate, complete and timely vital statistics based on civil
registration data are imperative to the State and its citizens.

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 effectively denying them of their civil
and political 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 want in literacy.

The situation is further exacerbated by the refusal of some medical institutions to facilitate
the registration of births and deaths due to unpaid financial obligations on the part of the families of
new-born children or deceased patients. These are tantamount to deliberate denial of rights by
reason of poverty. Effectively, the current law and practice allows depriving the poor for being
poor.

Current laws and practice are also wanting in clear policies and mechanisms on the status of
foundlings and children needing special protection. These children are not issued birth certificates
and therefore left stateless and denied their civil right and political rights.

This bill, thus, seeks to introduce a comprehensive and genuinely responsive civil
registration system. The measure provides for, among other mechanisms for comprehensive and
responsive civil registration, a Barangay Civil Registration System and free registration program for
unregistered births due to distance and poverty, free civil registration for indigenous peoples,
foundlings and children needing special protection.

In view of the foregoing, passage of this bill is earnestly soug

REP. LAWREN OSL TUN
15 District of in del N


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

104

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 2019.”

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 shall include all acts affecting the civil status of persons
in the Philippines including Indigenous Peoples and all Filipi

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 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 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, Philippine Statistics Authority and Shari'a District or Circuit
Courts.

(d) “National Statistician” 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 Shari'a District or Circuit Courts.

(0 “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,



36
37
38
39

41
42
43
44

47
48
49
‘50
Jl
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64

66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
7
7
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89

91

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.

Section 5. Duties and Functions of the National Statistician. - The National Statistician
shall have the following duties and functions:

(a) Enforce and administer the civil registration 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;

(@) 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;

(0) 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). - In accordance with
Article IX Section 478 of Republic Act 7610, otherwise known as the Local Governmt Code,
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, implement the same, particularly those which
have to do with civil registry programs and projects which the the local chief executive is
empowered to implement and which the Sanggunian is empowered to provide for. The
C/MCR shall:

(a) Register all registrable events occurring within the 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 National Statistician;

(d) Issue certified transcripts or copies of any certificate or documents registered
during the year;

(e) Order the biding, properly classified or digitized, of all certificates or documents
registered during the year;

(f) Send to the National Statistician 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;

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

(19 Transcribe and enter immediate upon receipt all registrable documents and judicial
decrees affecting the civil status of person in the appropriate civil registry books;

() Receive applications for the insurance of a marriage license and, after determining
that the requirements, supporting certificates and publication thereof for the


92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
i
112
113
114
WS
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146

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 National Statistician 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 National Statistician 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;

(Pp) 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 National Statistician; and

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

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) 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 Indigenous Cultural Communities or
Indigenous Peoples (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; (d) place of birth; (d) 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 subject to the provisions of Section 28
of this Act.

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;


147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202

(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;

(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 National Statistician 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.

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 National Statistician 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 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 (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 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
Tepresentative is not expected to be in his/her office, the death should be reported within


203
204
205
206
207
208

210
211
212
218
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225

257
258

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 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 will be recorded in the said book.

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 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
National Statistician. 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 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


264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283,
284

286
287
288,
289
290
291
292
293
294
295

297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304

306
307
308
309
310
3ll
312
313
314

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. The
LCRO shall likewise send a certified true copy of the annotated document and the
registered court order to the National Statistician. Each corrected document shall be
reported to the National Statistician 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 certificate of live birth as the father or
mother, as the case may be; and

(© 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.

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:


315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
825
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334

337
338,
339
340
341
342
343
344,
345
346,
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370

(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 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 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) - Within one (1) month from the effectivity of this Act, the
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in collaboration with the Natioanl Commission on
Indigenous (NCIP), National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), Philippine
Association of Civil Registrars, National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and
duly recognized anthropoligists and selected elders and leaders of Indigenous Peoples,
shall establish an Indigenous Peoples Civil Registration System (IPCRS) that is sensitive
and appropriate to the unique cultural practices and identification systems of Indigenous


Peoples: Provided, That the IPCRS shall be harmonized with existing laws and systems on
civil registry.

Indigenous Peoples shall be exempted from the payment of all fees in the recording of their
birth, marriage and death at the Local Civil Registry Office and such exemption shall extend
to any fine or fee for late registration. They are likewise exempted from the payment of
notarial fees and documentary stamp tax in cases where the recording of the bith, marriage
or death requires the execution of affidavits or sworn statements and similar documents.

Section 28. Registration of Children in Need of Special Protection (CNSP) and
Foundlings. - Within one (1) month from the effectivity of this Act, the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department
of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine Association of Civil Registrars shall
establish an appropriate and cohesive civil registration of Children in Need of Special
Protection (CNSP)when applicable and Foundlings in consonance with the principles of the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Section 29. Civil Registry Documents 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
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 30. 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 local
government unit funds and for this purpose, the Sangguinian of the municipalities or cities
concerned shall make the necessary appropriation available.

Section 31. Fees. ~ Registration of births, foundlings, deaths and marriages is mandatory
and compulsory and shall be absolutely 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 32. 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



426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
485
436
437
438
439

441
442
443
444
445

447
M8
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463.
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473

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 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 National Statistician; (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 bans or publications required by the
said chureh, 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,