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Monday, March 6, 2017
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KALIBO, Aklan – Hundreds of Aklanons with no birth certificates were served by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and various local civil registry offices through a free mobile registration program.
About 400 persons, most of whom were students, availed themselves of the free registration service rolled out in different barangays of Ibajay, Malay and Nabas towns last month.
Provincial Statistics Officer Antonet Catubuan said the free registrations were done to encourage those with no birth certificates to secure copies by registering their birth information at the civil registry office where they were born.
This program, according to Catubuan, was in response to the increasing demand for birth certificates in all transactions such as entrance to school, sports competitions, employment, passport application, travel abroad, and claiming for benefits or loans.
“A lot of those unregistered children came from poor families and whose parents could not afford to pay for the expenses for delayed registration,” said Catubuan.
This was why, Catubuan said, a resolution was passed in various local government units waiving the fees for delayed registration for the entire month of February.
The targets of registration in Ibajay were schoolchildren, while those in Nabas and Malay were open to all.
Aside from registration, PSA Aklan, also offered assistance to those having problems with their civil registry documents such as clerical error, erroneous gender or date of birth, and even name.
Through forums, beneficiaries were also taught about the coverage of civil registration as well as its importance in enhancing people’s lives./PN
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