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Statistically Speaking
Vital Statistics: If You Register, They Will Come! 
by Dr. Romulo A. Virola 1
Secretary General, NSCB
But, sorry , viagra-dependent friends – I am not referring to the numbers on your mind! I am talking about the Civil Registration System (CRS)!
Records of vital events such as births, deaths and marriages, are part of the rich administrative record systems maintained in the Philippine Statistical System (PSS) thru the CRS. The good news is, if the maintenance of these systems continues to improve, you may not have to be bothered too much, too often, by interviewers who knock on your doors to ask questions ranging from “How often do you consume instant mami noodles?” ( the 2003 National Nutrition Survey) to “During the last three months, how often did you read pornographic materials?” (2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study III) - the answers to which are used by many of our decision –makers. The bad news is we need your help!
In the U.S., Bush is bothered because San Francisco allows same-sex marriages! While in France, heterosexual couples have la liberte to openly PACS – i.e. to enter into a Pacte Civil de Solidarite, which offers better chances of cashing in on your gold than living in, but does not require one to prevaricate “till death do us part”. Many French lovers prefer to PACS, because PACS-ing allows them to legally own properties. In the Philippines, the Cardinal, of course, would not sin by allowing any of these options– and the Civil Registrar General (CRG), NSO Administrator Carmelita N. Ericta, I am sure, would not cooperate either!
Under the Civil Registry Law (Act No. 3753) approved on 26 November 1930, vital events must be registered with the Office of the Civil Registrar. These events include birth, marriage and death. But not same sex-marriages nor couples who PACS-ed, please!
If any of the vital events occurs, they must be registered in the locality where the event took place, specifically, at the Office of the Local Civil Registrar. In the case of birth, the hospital administrator, the attending physician or midwife or the child’s parents may register the event.
But, what do you get by registering the important, albeit sometimes regrettable events/decisions in your life ? Well, you can come to the Office of the Civil Registrar General (OCRG) to get copies of these records which are useful for many purposes. When your child comes of school age, you need a birth certificate - aside from tons of cash! When you need to travel abroad either to work, to study or to go on vacation away from whoever, you need a passport the issuance of which requires your birth certificate. When your loving but not always lovable spouse dies, you need the death certificate to bury the poor partner! And you need the same death certificate, to do what you may have always wanted but couldn’t say so - marry another time! Marriage contracts on the other hand, are required when it is time to collect insurance benefits against policies bought by your spouse in your favor! Richly bless his/her soul!
If you do not register vital events such as births, marriages and deaths with the Civil Registrar, therefore, the biggest loser is you. Yes, you or your family!
Last year, applications for vital documents received averaged 19,260 daily nationwide, more than 12,000 of which were in Metro Manila. In March this year, there was an average of 21,033 daily transactions on civil registration. A volcano of a burden, but NSO is doing fine, thank you! NSO used to be cursed generously about the sometimes hellish experience one went thru when applying for a birth certificate. But not anymore, thanks to the Census Serbilis Center which is now present in 40 locations. If you haven’t been to a Census Serbilis Center, try it, you just might like it!
At the Census Serbilis Centers, according to CRG Ericta, it should take at most 1 day to get your birth certificate provided that your records are in the database. If it takes longer, you have the right to complain and we encourage you to bring this up directly to Adm. Ericta at telephones numbered 713-7074, 715-6502 or 716-0807 or fax no. 713-7073 or send an email to info@census.gov.ph or cericta@census.gov.ph
But if “gimmicking” for you meant enjoying the silent elegance of Escolta,; or if your past dates included watching the regular run of Anak Dalita and Badjao by the outstanding Filipino film director Lamberto Javellana, chances are, the NSO does not hold (readable copies of) your vital statistics and you would be issued a negative certification. Your records could have been burned during the war! So, what do you do?
Try the municipality where the event occurred and hope that your record is intact. You can then request the Municipal Civil Registrar (MCR) to endorse a certified copy to the OCRG. If the MCR issues a negative certification as well, you can apply for late or delayed registration. Another option is to go to the National Archives or Sinupang Pambansa.
The NSO has records to the extent of submission by the local civil registrars - if your MCR did not submit copies of your civil registration documents to the NSO, the NSO will only be able to issue a negative certification. Basically, the NSO has complete records only of events that took place in the city of Manila from 1952 onwards and for the rest of the country, from 1945! If the event for which you want to get a certificate occurred outside of this time zone, you need to file affidavits. These are not really difficult to execute, so don’t try to go the easy but illegal route – follow the proper procedures. Let us be patient and let us not blame the NSO for our laziness, please?
More good news about civil registration! Previously, an entry in a civil register can be changed or corrected only thru a court order. But R.A. 9048, approved in 2001, has simplified matters by allowing correction of clerical errors and change of first names without need of a judicial order. Thus, if your first name sounds as euphonic as Eutiquiokyukyuk , you can change it thru administrative means by executing affidavits. However, if horror of horrors, civil registration records indicate that you are a female, when in fact, no matter how many times you look, you seem to be a male and you quack like one, you can rectify this omission, as well as changes in age, nationality and civil status only through the court. And, changes can be made only once for each item!
So dear readers – if you want high quality vital statistics and if you want fast service on your applications for birth or marriage or death certificate, please cooperate and file your registration documents with the Civil Registrar in your locality, pronto!
For more information, read the primer on “What You Need to Know About Civil Registration” or search the NSO website at http://www.census.gov.ph for the Frequently Asked Questions on civil registration. Aside from the 40 Census Serbilis Centers, your requests for NSO certification can also be made thru telephone numbered 737-1111 or thru the internet at www.e-census.com.ph
And one piece of unsolicited advice - next time you hear vital statistics, don’t call Aubrey Miles or Diana Zubiri! Spare yourself the fury of the Boss in the household! Go to the nearest Census Serbilis Center! And then, yes, maybe, you can live happily ever after!
Reactions and views are welcome thru email to the author at ra.virola@nscb.gov.ph.
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1 Secretary General of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) and Chairman of the Statistical Research and Training Center (SRTC). He holds a Ph. D. in Statistics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA and has taught mathematics and statistics at the University of the Philippines. He is also a past president of the Philippine Statistical Association.
Posted 14 June 2004.
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